THE 



GENTLEMAN'S 



STABLE GUIDE: 



* 



qU(^-J 



CONTAINING 



A FAMILIAR DESCRIPTION OF THE AMERICAN STABLE 
THE MOST APPROVED METHOD OF FEEDING, GROOM- 
ING, AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF HORSES; 



TOGETHER WITH 

DIRECTIONS FOR THE CARE OF CARRIAGES, HARNESS, ETC 



BY 



EGBERT McCLURE, M.D., V. S., 

AUTHOR OF "diseases IX THE AMERICAN STABLE, FIELD, AND FARM YARD.' 



/r 




PHILADELPHIA: 
PORTER & COATES, 

822 CHESTNUT STREET. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by 

PORTER & COATES, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United Statt-s, in and for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

MEAUS & DTJSENBERT, STEREOTTPEKS. SHEEM.AX & CO.. PIUN rSRS. 



C"-.^ 



6 



f 



^:) 



TO THE 



FIRST TROOP PHILADELPHIA CITY CAVALRY, 



^lis %ittU ^oo'k 



IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 



The Author. 



1* 



PEEFACE. 



This little book is founded on a reasoned experi- 
ence of many years as a veterinarian. It treats of 
the construction of private stables for the gentleman, 
the ^' Club," the farm, the livery, and the railroad; 
of the care of horses in health, — dietetics, regimen, 
and hygiene; of carriages and harness, and how to 
take care of them. All is elucidated in such a way, 
that no one need plead ignorance as to the duties of 
grooms and the requirements of the stable, — the 
quantity and quality of food the horse requires, and 
how to prepare it, together with the eiFects which may 
be expected. 

Knowing well the general want of economy in 
most of our stables, a guide or preceptor will not be 

(V) 



VI PREFACE. 

thought unnecessary or out of place, and should it 
be even partially instrumental in the removal of 
error, prejudice, or short-sightedness from professed 
horsemen, as '' Diseases in the American Stable, 
Field, and Farm-Yard" has been in regard to the 
erroneous views of the treatment of the diseases of 
all our domestic animals, and the substitution of a 
humane, scientific, and successful system, the result 
will sufficiently satisfy the 

AXJTHOE. 
Philadelphia, 1869. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION Page 11 

OHAPTEE I. 

STABLES. 

The Gentleman's Stable — Its Comfort — Completeness — Walls 
— Windows — Doors — Drainage — Stalls — Mangers and 
Racks — Hall Posts — Loose-Boxes — Advantages and Dis- 
advantages — Ventilation — Light — Temperature — Sleeping- 
Room — Carriage-House and Harness Room or Closet . 17 

CHAPTEE II. 

STABLES OF DIFFERENT KINDS. 

The "Club," Livery, Sale, Racing, Railroad, and Parm 
Stables . . .43 

CHAPTER III. 

DIETETICS, HYGIENE, AND EEGIMEN. 

Chemistry — Quality and Quantity of Food — Water — Oats — 
Corn 66 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEE lY. 

DIETETICS, HYGIENE, AND -REGIMEN— Continued. 

Barley — Rye — Carrots and Turnips — Grass — Pasture and 
Soiling — Timothy and Cloyer Hay — Bran — Cooking of 
Food for Horses — Prindle's Steamer — "Weight of Stable 
Feed . . Page 87 

CHAPTEE Y. 

STABLE WORK. 

Cleansing and Airing the Stable — Straightening the Blankets 
— Waterbrushing the Quarters — Feeding and Watering — 
Dressing or Grooming — Shaking down the Beds and Tidy- 
ing the Stable — Exercise — Blanketing — Bandages — Tying 
— Care of the Feet — Treatment after Work — Bedding — 
Rye Straw — Sawdust — Forest Leaves — Oat Straw — Salt, 
Marsh, and Meadow or Natural Hay — Tan-bark — Stable 
Vices — Kicking — Biting — Shying — Rolling — Cribbing — 
Breaking Loose — Tearing the Blankets— Vicious to clean 108 

CHAPTEE YI.. 

CARRIAGES, HARNESS, &c. 

Carriages — Their beauty — Lightness, strength, and weak- 
ness — Axles— Collings' Patent — Patent Mail and Half- 
mail — Common Springs — The Elliptic and Shackle— Their 
safety and strength — Care of Carriages, and how to wash 



CONTENTS. IX 

them — The best Grease for Axles — Castor Oil— Crown 
Soap, its make and value — Harness — Specialties in — 
" Kemble Jackson" Bridle — Kicking Strap — Four-in- 
hand — Tandem — Care of Harness — Saddles and Bridles — 
Bits — Their variety and how to clean them . Page 138 



CHAPTEE YII. 

VETERINARY SURGEONS. 

Veterinary Nostrums of the Stableman — Fattening — Glossing 
the Coat — Conditioning Horses . . . . .157 

CHAPTER VIII. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Breeding and Training of Horses — Accidents — Sprains — 
Diseases — Eunaway Horses — Pasturing of Colts and 
young Horses — Clipping — Good Feed overlooked, but an 
important agent in improvem.ent of Breeds of Horses . 171 



THE 



A.MERIC1I STABLE GUIDE 



INTRODUCTION. 



The number of Horses in the United States is 
estimated by careful judges at nearly eight millions — em- 
bracing all varieties, from the peerless Dexter, trotting 
his mile in 2m. Ivis., or the magnificent thorough-bred 
stallion, the proud sire of hundreds of winners on the turf, 
to the veriest drudge that drags his weary load along the 
crowded streets of our large cities. The value of these 
animals has been computed at from $2,000,000,000 to 
$3,000,000,000, a sum almost sufficient to pay off the 
national debt, and perhaps greater than the entire gold 
product of the world for the period in which they were 
reared. 

They may for convenience be divided into four classes, 
though all such distinctions are of course arbitrary, as they 
run into one another, so that it is difficult to say where 
one class begins and the other ends. 

2 (11) 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

1st. Thorough-bred stallions of acknowledged reputation 
as foal-getters. 

2d. Horses, not stallions, distinguished for their perform- 
ances on the turf, or giving promise of great speed. 

3d. Horses of speed, but not quite so fast as those in 
the 2d class. 

4th. Horses of general utility. 

5th. Horses of slow work. 

Of these the first class has always commanded the high- 
est prices, both in this country and in England. 

Says a writer in a recent number of a prominent sport- 
ing journal : — 

" Horses of great reputation have always commanded great 
prices. At Newmarket, in 1805, a bay colt, by Pipato, sold 
for S75,000. In the same year, a two-year old colt by 
Beningborough, a two-year old by Volunteer, and a three- 
year old filly by Sir Peter, were sold for $75,000 each. 
For the celebrated horse Shark $50,000 were refused, and 
O'Kelly declined to accept an offer of 1100,000 for his stal- 
lion Eclipse. Tradition says that the Duke of Devonshire 
refused for Flying Childers the weight of the horse in gold. 
A few years ago, the great sire Stockwell could not be 
bought for $100,000, and we presume that when Gladita- 
teur was carrying everything before him on the English 
turf, the Count de Lagrange would not have parted with 
him for $150,000." 

In this country stock-breeders and owners of costly 
animals, not being so wealthy as a class as their brethren 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

in the mother country, and the stakes contended for being 
neither so numerous nor so valuable, the prices paid have 
ranged considerably lower. Nevertheless, the celebrated 
running stallion Lexington was purchased for $15,000, 
for stock purposes, by the late Mr. Alexander soon after 
his wonderful performance at New Orleans, from the* 
effects of which he became blind ; and when remonstrated 
with by his friends for paying what was. then considered an 
enormous price, Mr, Alexander counted out upon the table 
$15,001, the price he had just received for Norfolk, a son 
of Lexington, since valued at |40,0G0, thus showing the 
judiciousness of his purchase. Kentucky, another son of 
Lexington, cost his owner, Mr. Leonard W. Jerome, 
$10,000 ; and Mr. Alexander refused $50,000 for Asteroid, 
Kentucky's half-brother. Glencoe (imported), Lexington's 
old antagonist, changed hands at $35,500. Priam, Jr., a 
descendant of Old Priam, purchased during the war by a 
member of the Christian Commission when only 9 months 
old, and sent to Pennsylvania, was sold a few days since for 
$5000, without any knowledge of his speed and endurance, 
but on, account of his perfection of form and splendid 
pedigree. His present owner will not take double that 
amount for him. 

Mr. Bonner has just purchased for $20,000 the trotting 
stallion Major Winfield, the sire of Commodore Vander- 
bilt's " Mountain Boy," and " Joe Elliot," who lately 
trotted a mile in 2.19 J. 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

Mr. C. P. Relf has refused an offer of S50,000 for liis 
famous stallion Mambrino Pilot, and with reason — for a 
moderate estimate of his earnings for a single year was cal- 
culated at more than one-fifth that amount. Hambleto- 
nian, the prince of trotting stallions, is valued at $100,000, 
notwithstanding his advanced age. 

The second class is more numerous than the first, but 
is still Yerj small in comparison with the whole number of 
horses in the United States, and may be set down at about 
70,000, commandiug prices ranging from S3000 to $10,000, 
with many instances where two and three times the latter 
figure has been paid. Mr. Bonner gave $33,000 for Dexter, 
and, had it not been for his notoriously bad temper, and 
the bad condition of his feet, defects which, thanks to his 
owner's careful treatment and judicious shoeing, have been 
eiFectually overcome, the price would doubtless have been 
much higher, as he might easily have made more than that 
amount in a single year by exhibiting at fairs and on the 
track. "George Palmer" cost his owner $28,000; the 
bay horse ■' Henry," raised in Kansas, has been sold during 
the past year for $15,000, and $36,000 has since been 
oiiered for him and refused by his present owner. $20,000 
was paid for "Goldsmith Maid," and $17,500 for Lady 
Thorn. The horses Fearnought, George Wilkes, and Draco 
Prince, trotting in 2.25, are valued at $20,000 each. 

It must be remembered that all the " Fancy" horses do 
not appear on the turf or race-course, as the greater num- 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

ber are in the hands of private and wealthy gentlemen, 
and only used for road or driving purposes or for the stud. 

The individual value of horses of the third class is much 
less than those of the two previously mentioned ; but as a 
class being much more numerous, their aggregate value is 
much larger. 

A horse that can trot in 2.45 will readily bring from 
$1500 to $2000. A Bashaw or Messenger that can trot in 
2.35 will command $5000, while one that can beat 2.30 
is considered cheap at $10,000, and for every second less 
in the twenties $1000 additional can be obtained. 

The fourth class comprises about three-eighths of the 
whole number, and includes all such animals as are stylish 
in action and well adapted for general wagon and road 
purposes. The prices paid vary from $300 to $2000. 

Lastly,, we have that most useful and most frequently 
much-abused and badly-kept animal, the horse of slow 
work, numbering about 5,000,000, or five-eighths of the 
whole, commanding prices from $50 to $200. 

The prices and figures above given will sliov»^ at a glance 
what a valuable animal the horse is, and what a sum of 
money is invested in horseflesh in America alone. 

And yet, notwithstanding the enormous interests in- 
volved, it is surprising that so little intelligent thought 
has been given this subject. Proverbially wasteful and 
reckless as we Americans are, in nothing are we more so 
than in our care of the noblest and most useful animal 
2* 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

•wliicli God has bestowed on man. Especially is this true 
of his treatment when in the stable, where the groom 
is allowed to mismanage the poor brutes committed to his 
tender care, as his whim or ignorance may dictate. To 
show how a stable ought to be constructed and managed, 
is the object of this little work; whether it has been suc- 
cessful or not it is for the reader to judge. 



CHAPTEE I. 

STABLES. 

The Gentleman's Stable — Its Comfort — Completeness^Walls— 
Windows — Doors — Drainage — Stalls — Mangers and Racks — 
Hall Posts — Loose-Boxes — Advantages and Disadvantages — 
Ventilation — Light — Temperature — Sleeping-Room — Carriage- 
House and Harness Room or Closet. 

At no day since the domestication of the horse, has he 
been so comfortably provided for as in the stable of the 
American gentleman. The splendor and pomp of the wise 
king of Israel, the gaudy trapping, tinselled show and orna- 
mental fixtures of the oriental prince, cannot be compared 
with the more substantial arrangements provided for the 
care and comfort of A.merican carriage and pleasure horses. 
Whatever lack of comfort there may be found to exist can- 
not be truthfully charged to any imperfection or want of 
provision in the construction of our fine stables in all their 
details. This may without fear of contradiction be called 
the heyday of stable comfort for the horse of the gentleman 
of the United States. High ceilings, airy stalls, ample 
loose-boxes, good drainage with free ventilation, will be 
found to be the rule and not the exception. Compare the 

(17) 



18 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

stables of to-day, both in tbeir number and perfection, with 
those of a quarter of a ceatury ago, and no difficulty will be 
found in arriving at the deductions here announced con- 
cerning them. Therefore, in the pride of our spirit we 
say, that the experience obtained in a series of years in the 
second city of this republic, where duty and love of the 
horse impelled us to erect such establishments, leads to the 
conclusion that there is little to be desired in addition to 
what already exists for the arrangements of the stable and 
comfort of the horse. 

It must be remembered by all who are interested in such 
matters that the plans for our private city stables and their 
perfection have been executed almost in opposition to cir- 
cumstances, and in many instances beyond the comprehen- 
sion of the owners. A small lot of ground behind or back 
of the dwelling, or at least within reasonable distance of it, 
is usually selected as the stable site, and it is upon this that 
we find the finished stable and carriage-house of the gentle- 
man. The ingenuity of the architect and the craft of the 
builder has erected a house for the horse and family equi- 
page of which no age nor country can claim a better, and 
apparently under adverse circumstances. This, then, is 
the stable of the present, which is acceptable to us for all 
purposes intended, and from which we prefer to take as a 
text the description of the gentleman's city stable. 

The walls of city stables and carriage-houses are almost 
invariably built of brick of the ordinary kind, but on the 
front aspect or wall it is usually faced with pressed brick 



WALLS — WINDOWS. 1^ 

of extra quality and laid with skill and care. The lintels 
of windows and doors are not the same in all stables, some 
being arched with brick, others with granite, brownstone, 
marble, or iron. On the inside of the walls some are plas- 
tered, others boarded with pine and sometimes even with 
foreign and more expensive wood, in many instances giving 
the appearance of a huge polished box. This high finish 
is usually given to the walls of the stable and carriage- 
house only. The hay-loft, except where there are rooms 
for the groom or coachman to sleep in, are not so highly 
finished in this respect; nor is this necessary, either for the 
keeping of the hay or feed. In some instances, however, 
the game of billiards and other amusements are carried on 
over the stable, and where sufficient ventilation is secured 
no injury to carriage, harness, or horse can result from such 
a contrivance ; in fact, it may sometimes be a decided 
advantage, for horses like company and even excitement 
about them. 

The doors are- usually of two sizes, one for the stable 
proper and the other for the carriage-house; the latter 
opening in the middle and sliding on rollers back against 
the wall, thus occupying little or no room when open, and 
obviating any risk of horses or carriages coming in contact 
with it. This plan of opening large carriage-house doors 
cannot be always adopted, from want of space or width 
of wall to allow the door to run back its whole length. 
When this is the case, they should be hung on hinges and 
open out on the street ; always, however, taking the precau- 



20 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

tion of having prongs of iron to fasten tliem when open, to 
prevent the wind or other agency from throwing them 
against whatever may be passing through. Neglect of 
this precaution results in injury to the panels of the" car- 
riage, and more than once has contact with the open doors 
been the cause of horses running away. The doors of the 
stable are in some cases placed on hinges, and in others 
on rollers, sliding back against the wall like the carriage- 
house doors. The hinged door when opening into the 
stable is objectionable, chiefly on account of its being 
sometimes left partly open and the horse being loose at the 
time or thoughtlessly led out, jamming himself between the 
door and the wall; whereas if the door opened outwardly 
or was placed on rollers, it would open to its fullest 
extent, or slide back to its proper place by the simple pres- 
sure made against- it. The key of the stable door at the 
time it is unlocked should be t«,ken out of the door and 
put in its proper place ; that is, if it is a long-handled one 
and apt to catch upon some of the harness when horses are 
passing. For this reason, also, stable-door keys should 
have a ring to turn them by, instead of the usual shank or 
long handle, and a place sunk in the door or wood for this 
ring to fall and lie in while it is in the door. 

The windows of city stables are chiefly confined to the 
front of the building, showing into the carriage-house ; but 
if there are back windows, they are generally placed above 
the horses, so as to throw the light into the stable-loft, and 
not into the stable or horse apartment at all. In many 



WINDOWS. 



21 



instances this is done because in large cities owners and 
occupants of houses have an aversion to horse-stable win- 
dows facing them. Many suits at law have been brought 
against the owners of stables by persons living opposite to 
these windows, and we are sorry to say the result is gener- 
ally in favor of the plaintiffs, thereby compelling the build- 
ing up of the windows and darkening the stable, to the 
inconvenience of the stable men, and also to the injury of 
the horses, particularly of their eyes, as dark stables are 
one great cause of weak eyes and blindness. To obviate 
this difficulty, and as we know of no law preventing a fix- 
ture to the stable of whatever device or pattern one may 
choose, we would- select the plan here illustrated, where 
neither glass nor horse can be seen from the outside. 




(a) represents the window closed ; (b) the window opened ; (c) the ratchet to 
regulate and hold the window open. The arrow in figure (&) shows the direc- 
tion of the air. 



22 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

Windows of this description, as far as we know, have 
not been much used in our stables, but can be seen on the 
southern exposure of the Philadelphia County Prison 
(Moyamensing) ; answering, we believe, the objection to 
exposed windows on buildings usually considered not the 
most respectable to some neighborhoods. The windows 
should be above the level of the head, so that when open 
no cold draught of air will force itself against the horse in 
a direct line. This we will more fully explain when con- 
sidering ventilation. 

The floors of city stables are of various kinds of mate- 
rial. The stable proper, its stalls, loose-boxes, &c., are usu- 
ally covered with wood laid in various ways. This material 
is perhaps less objectionable for such purposes than any 
other in use, since floors laid with wood last longer and 
need less repairing than do those laid with stone , how- 
ever, some persons object to wood on account of its becom- 
ing saturated with urine and other animal fluids in a short 
time. Concrete is another substance now used in some rare 
instances for floors of stables, but from what we have seen 
of it we cannot truthfully recommend it for such a purpose, 
as it is very apt during the hot season to become full of 
holes and very uneven on its surface ; its chief composition 
being, we believe, gas tar mixed with sand or gravel. Cob- 
ble and Belgian pavements are also in use for stable-floors, 
but more frequently for the floor of the carriage-house or on 
that part of it upon which carriages stand while being 
washed, The floor of the carriage- house is in many estab- 



FLOORS DRAINAGE. 23 

lisliments the same as is used in the stable, but more 
usually a portion of it is paved with bricks put down flat, 
and in some instances, to insure durability, on their edges, 
especially in that part where the carriage washing is done. 
In the finer stables, large flagstones are used, and generally 
in such cases the whole of the floor is thus laid as far as 
the adjoining one of the stable. This diversity only shows 
the views and tastes of the architects and builders, and 
nothing more. 

The drainage of stables is a matter of much import- 
ance, not only in regard to health, but also to cleanliness. In 
fact, so much is thought of this in relation to stables, that 
great ingenuity has been displayed in the furtherance and 
accomplishment of this design. Many plans are in use, but 
not one of them will serve the purpose, short of a tho- 
rough discharge of the fluid from the stable without a 
return of the ammonia and gas up the drains and through 
the openings into them from the floor of the stable. We 
do not refer to drains on the surface, as their gases are 
diluted with the air of the stable, but to the deep gutters 
conveying the urine, &c., to the common sewers of the city. 
To thoroughly drain the stable of its fluids and carry them 
to the sewers of the city, at the same time preventing a 
return of gas, is perhaps all that is wanted ; and for this 
purpose a contrivance made of cast iron is now used and is 
called a trap, which closely fits to the opening in the drain 
under the floor of the stable. A catch-pit is the most efi'ect- 
ual way of stopping the foul gas from entering the place ; 
and we think that without it no stench-trap can be complete. 



24 



AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 




Section of Catch-Pit. 

The plan of this pit is that the fluid from the stable at 
a falls into the division h pa,rtitioned in the centre c, 
all of which is firmly fixed in by a stone or iron lid c?, 
and fitted in a frame at its top, where it remains till taken 
off for the removal of the solid portions contained within 
it at h. 

The sides of the iron partition run in grooves fitted well 
in the plaster or mastic lining of the pit — at all events fit- 
ting sufficiently close to prevent the solid portions from 
passing into the division e. As will be seen the parti- 
tion c does not reach to the bottom of the floor, but within 




Iron surface Gutter. 



one to four inches of it, and it is through this space the 
fluid is to pass, filling it to the top on the other half e, 



DRAINAGE — STALLS. 25 

till running over into and through the pipe / as fast as 
it runs in at c?, presuming of course the pit to be level. 
By adopting this construction, all stench- traps may he dis- 
pensed with, substituting in their place a simple iron sur- 
face-drain, as seen in the preceding engraving, with its 
checkered cover also of iron, and movable to allow of its 
being cleaned with the stable-broom and cold water. 

The STALLS are from 5 2 to 6 feet in width, and are gen- 
erally separated by solid wooden partitions. However, in 
some stables, boards of from 4 to 6 inches in width are used, 
with a space of 2 or 4 inches between them ; to this plan 
we object, particularly when such spaces are left in the 
lower portion of the partition, allowing the foot of the 
horse to find its way through into the other stall, to be 
injured by another horse, or, as is sometimes the case, a leg 
to be broken when he has been lying down, and suddenly 
springs to his feet with great force while his foot is in such 
a place. To prevent the horses from biting each other 
over the tops of the stall divisions, an ornamental iron rail- 
ing is used, which we think is very appropriate, since it 
not only allows a free current of air to pass, but also gives 
the stable a finer appearance, which is by no means to be 
ignored, though appearances in a stable are not, or at least 
should not be made at the sacrifice of health and comfort 
of the horse. Incompatibility of health, comfort, and har- 
mony of design should never be allowed, when at the same 
expense it can be made perfectly admissible without doing 
violence to either. 



26 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

The MANGERS AND RACKS of stables in cities are now 
in a majority of cases made of iron, witli tliree divisions or 
a cavity for hay-feed, maslies, soft feed or gruel. The 
high hay-rack elevated above the horse's head is now 
almost a fixture of the past, and to be seen only in the 
stable of the farmer or other old-fashioned establishment. 
The manger and rack are to meet certain objections to 
the low or present position and form, and are made and 
placed high enough from the floor to prevent the horse 
from getting his fore feet into them, as would be the 
ease if placed low and without sufficient slope being 
given toward the horse. This angle or slope inclining 
towards the horse, in a great measure prevents him 
from attempting to get into the manger. Nor is this all, for 
the slope widens the manger and rack, at the same time 
allowing ample stall-room for the horse to lie and stretch 
himself at full length without the head getting under the 
manger, a matter of the greatest importance in the preven- 
tion of accident to the horse during his struggles to free 
himself, an illustration of which can often be seen in the 
old high manger and rack. Again, if the horse should get 
his fore feet into the manger, being made of iron, it can 
bear the weight of the fore part of the horse without 
injury; but as the rack is usually placed in the corner of 
the stall and not in the centre, it is very seldom that he 
will make the attempt. There is a great economy of hay 
in racks placed below the horse's head, compared with 
those placed above, since the horse does not waste it by 



MANGERS AND RACKS. 27 

pulling it down and tramping it among his feet, but it 
remains in the rack before him. Stonehenge tells us, that 
the low rack saves the waste of 10 pounds of hay per horse 
in one week. Where the troughs or mangers are made of 
wood, to prevent the feet of the horse from breaking 
through the bottom of them, let a post of thick strong wood 
be the resting-place for the bottom boards, and have them 
firmly and solidly fixed upon this ; for if this precaution be 
overlooked, a bottomless manger and an injured horse will 
occasionally be the result. The top rail or cap of the man- 
ger and raek should be either of iron, or hard wood covered 
with sheet-iron, tin, or zinc, so as to prevent the horse 
from gnawing it with his teeth when he is idle or restless. 
This cap rail, to which the halter-ring is to be fastened, is 
firmly fixed at each end into the travis or wall, thus pre- 
venting the possibility of the horse in his endeavors to get 
loose from puUing the ring and rail with him, thereby 
injuring the stable as well as teaching him a bad lesson, 
especially if he be a young horse. 

The STALL-POSTS or bale-posts, as they were formerly 
called, now rarely reach frem the ground to the ceiling, 
but are from five to seven feet high, and are made of wood 
(usually cedar) or of cast-iron, round in front, with a 
groove in the back of them, so as to admit the ends of the 
boards forming the stall divisions. These posts, whether 
of iron or wood, are sometimes very attractive in their 
appearance, from the ingenuity displayed on them by the 
iron moulder or wood turner. 
3* 



28 



AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 



Cast-iron posts are frequently shattered by a kick of a 
horse, while with cedar posts this rarely or never occurs. 
From our experience in this matter, in an economical 
point of view, we find the wooden posts much preferable, 
because they less frequently require renewing, and are 
more easily replaced ; for the pattern of the iron post may 
be lost, requiring the making of a new pattern, or the sub- 
stitution of a difierent form, thus destroying uniformity. 

The Loose-Boxes are in some stables the substitutes 
for stalls, and may be fitly described as two stalls made into 
one, with the addition only of a partition extending along 
the edge of the gangway behind the horse as he stands in 
the stall : in a word, it is two stalls in one, fenced or closed 
in on all sides, with a door to each box, hung on hinges, or, 
as in some stables, to slide or run on rollers, and of the form 
represented in the annexed engraving. 




Door for Loose-Box. 



As will be seen, the upper portion is made of sparred 
work, which admits the air, yet prevents the horse or its 



LOOSE-BOXES. 29 

neighbor from interfering with each other, and allows the 
groom to see into the box without opening the door. 
Where circumstances will allow, the door should be placed 
on the gangway side, and not in another box or stall. 
The other portions of the fence around the box should, like 
its door, be of solid boards, extending up to about two- 
thirds of its height, the other third to be sparred either 
with wood, iron rods, or strong wire-work, screwed or nailed 
to the top of the wooden portion. The upper portion of 
spars or netting is inserted in a flat iron or wooden bar, 
firmly secured to the front travis or wall, and attached to 
the back post at the edge of the gangway, giving strength 
to the whole fixture. To give strength to loose-boxes, as 
is now done in our finer stables, the posts or travises are 
made of sufficient length to reach up, and are secured to 
a joist in the ceiling of the stable. 

The advantages of loose-boxes may be stated to con- 
sist in giving to the horse more liberty of action, and con- 
sequently a more natural position in a state of domestica- 
tion than could be accorded to him when tied by the head. 
Hence the excuse of the Arab, when refusing to sell or 
part with his favorite horse for gold, that the European 
would " tie Mm close.^' How abhorrent to the mind of the 
sons of the desert that the winged steed should be tied by 
the head after a life spent in unrestrained freedom at the 
side of its dam — whether on the oasis of the desert or the 
pastures of Pennsylvania. The old, stiff", hard-worked horse 
and the lymphatic mare are alike benefited by the freedom 



80 



AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 



given to them in the roomy loose-box. The swelled or 
filled legs of sickly and debilitated animals are greatly sus- 
ceptible of improvement under the genial influence of the 
gentle exercise in the box. The young, the old, the sick, 
and the well are benefited by the freedom and movement 
thus allowed, that cannot be gained by confinement, tied 
by the head in a five or six feet stall. Many a valuable 
and useful horse, under sickness or sufi'ering from an 




Iron Fittings for Stalls and LoosBrBox, 



accident, has been lost for the want of sufficient space, 
which is found in the modern loose-box. The sick horse 
requires more room than when in health. As an agency 
for the prevention and cure of a crib-biting horse, no other 
contrivance can compare with it, unless it be the pasture- 
field. Especially is this the case v/hen there are folding 
shutters like closet doors, covered over and made flush with 
the manger and hay-rack, at all times except when the 



LOOSE-BOXES. 31 

horse is feeding. By this plan no projection offers for him 
to take hold of by his mouth in order to suck air into the 
stomach. Thus, with regular food and regular work, 
together with his home in a loose-box, the horse often 
entirely forgets his former very injurious habits. Again, 
the foot cannot get over the halter during the night, nor 
is the horse ever found cast, and unable to rise when the 
stableman enters in the morning; yet this is often seen 
when tied to the manger in the usual way. 

The loose-box is certainly a remedy for many of the faults 
and ills to which horses are liable, particularly some of the 
vices in the stable and those affections of the joints arising 
from narrow stalls and hard work. 

The disadvantages of loose-boxes, if disadvantages 
we may call them, when compared with the advantages 
just detailed, are not many, when properly considered. 
To the minds of some persons, however, they will be con- 
siderable, when taking into account the extra quantity of 
straw for litter or bedding that is required, and the fact 
that the space for one box will make two stalls. These 
perhaps are sufficient to condemn them, if economy be 
the rule for estimation in such matters. 

The "quarters" (hips) of horses during the night will 
frequently be found to be badly stained from lying in every 
position on their excretions evacuated over the bedding in 
all parts of the box. This, however, is not always the 
case, for many horses are very cleanly in their habits, as is 



32 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

often observed by the manure being deposited in a corner 
or given place. ' 

The liability of horses soiling themselves is one of the 
chief objections of the stableman to the use of loose-boxes, 
while those of the owner are, the extra space occupied by 
the boxj and the greater amount of bedding required to 
cover it. 

Where the stableman is "allowed the manure-money, 
little fault will be found with the boxes, because of the 
greater conversion of straw into manure to be tossed into 
the dung-pit to his special advantage. 

The ventilation of stables should in all cases be so 
managed that draughts of cold air will be prevented from 
blowing against any of the horses. All stables, however, 
are not sufficiently and properly ventilated, nor is there a 
fixed form of ventilation adopted in our stables, although 
it does not necessarily follow that all our fine horses are 
suffering from contaminated air and foul gases. 

Where the superficial area and height are great, and 
with few horses in the stable to generate foul air, little 
ventilation will be required. But it is in the crowded and 
small stables that we find imperfect ventilation. It is now 
admitted that no stable should have less than from 800 to 
1000 cubit feet for each horse, when confined in stalls, and 
from 1300 to 1500 for each loose-box. 

A very airy stable is generally so high that it is difficult 
in winter to keep it comfortable for either man or horse. 
To obviate this difficulty, we introduce a drawing of a ven- 



VENTILATION. 



33 



tilating sliaffc, which is admissible to all or every variety 
of stable, without occupying much space or costing a great 
deal of money for the material and construction ; and, 
moreover, its utility rests upon true principles of ventila- 
tion by its situation and capacity to carry off the foul air, 




Ventilating Shaft. . 

presuming always that sufficient air is admitted into the 
stable nearer the ground by the doors and windows, and 
registers placed in the walls. These registers or louvres are 
made on the same principle as those in dwellings where fur- 
naces are used. Instead of a multiplicity of tubes in a stable 
corresponding to the number of horses, one will answer, if 
of sufficient capacity and properly placed, with its mouth 



34 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

entering into the stall througli tlie ceiling. Tlius it will 
be seen that when one of these ventilating shafts is in 
place, a constant current is kept up between it and the 
registers below. This ventilator is of wood, made like a 
square funnel, carried up through the hay-loft or upper 
portion of the stable and the roof to the outside, and to pre- 
vent a down draught of air, snow, or rain, a " cowl,'^ some- 
times called an " archimedian ventilator,'' turning with the 
wind, is placed on top of the end of the shaft. For this 
purpose, one made of wood, and covered with sheet tin or 
zinc, like the pattern here represented, will answer all pur- 




Head of Shaft. 

poses. It will be readily recognised from its shape, so 
often seen in many parts of the country upon the roofs of 
buildings. 

In a badly-ventilated stable, in the fall or spring of the 
year, its inmates will be fevered and sick. Coughs, colds, 
lung fever, scratches, grease, influenza, farcy, glanders, 
and other zymotic affections, are some of the concomi- 
tants of impure air in ill-ventilated places. Pure air is so 
indispensable to animal life, that a high condition of health 



VENTILATION. 60 

cannot long be maintained without its agency. The Black 
Hole, at Calcutta is an admonition in favor of proper or 
sufficient ventilation. 

The horses which were confined only for a few hours on 
board of ships in tlie military expeditions, sent out by the 
British government to Quiberon and Varna, when the 
storm compelled the hatches to be put down, were almost 
invariably affected with glanders. We mention these 
occurrences, because Mr. A. B. Allen, editor of Stewart's 
book, affects to doubt that bad ventilation could produce 
those affections amongst the horses on board, by stating as 
his opinion, that the animals were diseased when put on the 
ships. Mr. Stewart was right in his remarks on the cause 
of the sickness ', and Mr. Allen has simply shown, that he 
is incapable of tracing effect to its cause when he penned 
his assertion, doubting the opinion of a man who, in his 
day, had but few equals as a veterinary surgeon and 
writer. 

Moreover, the views expressed by Mr. Stewart thirty 
years ago, are substantiated by science and experience at 
the present day. The analyses of impure and pure air have 
shown us a difference, that few persons, even in our time 
have anticipated. The fact is, that the condensed air of a 
crowded place where animals are kept, gives a deposit, 
which, if allowed to remain on the walls and fixtures for a 
few days, forms a solid, thick, glutinous mass, having a 
strong odor of animal matter, which, if examined by the 
microscope, is seen to undergo a remarkable change, by its 
4 



36 AMEEICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

being converted into a vegetable growth, wbich is followed 
by the production of innumerable animalcules j a clear 
proof that it contains organic matter, otherwise it could not 
nourish organic beings. This is the result of the beautiful 
experiments of Dr. Angus Smithy where he showed how 
the lungs and skin gave out organic matter, which is in 
itself a deadly poison, producing zymotic and epidemic dis- 
ease according to its strength. So potent is it for injury, 
that if a drop of the liquid matter obtained by the conden- 
sation of the air of a foul place be introduced into the vein 
of a dog, it will produce death with the usual phenomena 
of typhus fever. Ventilation and cleanliness are the only 
remedies for this evil, acting not as miracles, but in accord- 
ance with natural laws, the disobedience of which is sick- 
ness, and perhaps premature death. 

The lighting of stables is a matter of much moment 
for the maintenance of health, and the prevention of dis- 
ease among men and horses. We are told that institutions 
of the old world can show by statistics, the immunity from 
disease of the inmates on the light side of the building, 
while those confined on the dark side are more frequently 
affected, and more liable to sickness. The lighting of sta- 
bles, like other buildings in large cities, is at all times or 
situations no easy matter, as was mentioned when speak- 
ing of windows. There seems to be an inherent prejudice 
existing against stables with lights facing, and the horses 
looking towards the dwellings or property of others not 
interested in the stable or its stock. To obviate this diffi- 



LIGHTING — TEMPERATURE. 37 

cultj, let the windows already shown be adopted, or borrow 
from the heavens by means of skylights, either fixed or 
movable. Where ventilation is good, immovable skylights 
will answer, but when this is not the case, the lights may 
be made movable by hinges, with cords by which to open 
and shut them at will, or during storms. A dark stable 
is usually a dirty and ill-ventilated one, prone to produce 
diseases of a typhoid or low condition of the vis vitse. The 
light of the sun admitted into a stable, is as potent in pre- 
serving animals in health, as darkness is in the cause of 
decay and disease. The dose of sunshine is as regularly 
prescribed, and with as much benefit by the physician in 
certain afi"ections, as any article in the pharmacopoeia. 

The temperature is an important matter in the man- 
agement of places where animals are kept, yet the ther- 
mometer is an instrument seldom consulted, even if it finds 
a place. This should not be, especially in a climate such 
as ours, where we have the mercury at zero at one hour of 
the day, and at another 20° to 30° above it. The difficulty 
in regulating the temperature, or rather in keeping the 
degree of heat in winter up to the summer standard, is 
more apparent than real, even if it were necessary. 

The stable temperature of summer being from 70° to 
90°, would obviously not only be unnecessary, but highly 
injurious to the horses in winter, with the thermometer 
indicating zero- in the open air. Coughs, colds, staring 
coats and chills, swelled legs, and a train of other ills, 
would be of constant occurrence, and some of the horses 



38 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

perhaps, like the exotic or hot-house plant, would succumb 
to the inexorable law of nature, when by accident or other- 
wise they were exposed to the frosts and chilling blasts of 
December. In winter, the temperature of the stable for 
safety and comfort to the horses when out-doors, should 
not exceed 40° to 50° of Fahrenheit's thermometer. 

But the groom will say the coats on the horses will not 
lie well. What of that, when it is a provision of nature 
to give them a coat for protection ? and moreover, in win- 
ter horses are even more able to do their work with the 
long coat of hair on, than they are with the short and 
glossy one in summer. The greater the heat of the stable 
in winter, the more tender will the horses be, and conse- 
quently the greater the liability to disease. But in our 
desire to avoid unnecessary exposure of the horse, care 
should be taken not to have the temperature too low; 
for then the horses will lose condition, and consume more 
food to keep them in flesh or working order and to supply 
the caloric of the body required in a greater degree when 
exposed or stabled in too low a temperature. 

The risk of disease being produced in horses by sudden 
transition from heat to cold, is by no means so great in 
summer as the sudden exposure to the cold from the heated 
stable in winter ; bearing in mind, however, that from cold 
to heat is as prolific in the production of disease as the 
reverse. But as we have said, the risk is not so great in 
summer, from the difficulty or almost impossibility of find- 
ing a situation in mid-summer, except it be in a draught 



TEMPERATURE — SLEEPING-ROOM. 39 

between two doors, where the cold would be such as to give 
rise to disease. This, then, is the chief reason of the more 
perfect immunity from chills, leading to thoracic diseases 
in summer, amongst horses, and at the same time illustrates 
why it is that from the heated stable in winter, horses are 
more subject to influenza^ pleurisy, pneumonia, &c. How 
necessary, then, is it, that a thermometer, properly protected 
from injury, should be placed in every stable where valu- 
able horses are kept, and the keeper instructed in its use — 
charging him that the mercury be kept at a given place in 
the tube during the day, and at something higher during 
the night ? The standard or relation of the heat of the 
stable to the open air at all seasons of the year, night and 
day, is so difficult to attain and control, that we could only 
approximate to it were an attempt made to give figures ; 
but we would say that the stable should be 10° to 20° 
warmer in winter than the open air, and in summer per- 
haps as much cooler, which can only be done by door or 
window currents of air, or placing horses underground in 
cellar stables, with a northern exposure of the building, or 
where the rays of the sun do not strike its walls. 

The sleeping-room over the stable is of so much 
importance in stable management, when properly conducted 
in its various details, that few persons will run the risk of 
their horses getting loose from their stalls during the night, 
without some one in the building to secure them before any 
injury is done to horse or stable by kicking and biting, as 
is often the case, when no one is on the premises to inter- 
4* 



40 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

fere. How often is it that the horse is attacked with windy 
colic, unknown to any one during the night, and is found 
dead in the stable in the morning — the halter broken — the 
stable injured, an'd not unfrequently others of the horses' 
legs bruised, broken and swollen, from kicks received from 
the sick horse in his agonizing struggles ? To enumerate 
the various accidents happening to horses during the night, 
that could be avoided by a person sleeping over the stable, 
would be unnecessary, and take up too much of our space. 
Therefore, we would enjoin upon the owners of fine horses 
to have a sleeping-room provided in the stable, where all 
unusual sounds could be heard by its occupant, and acci- 
dents thereby be prevented. This is the only security for 
the night, where horses are kept. The stranger on the 
street or the patrolman on his beat, will very seldom pay 
much attention to the sounds of the plunging and kicking 
of the horses in a stable, though the animals may be valu- 
able ; and perhaps the struggle for life itself will in the 
morning find one or more of them dead or disabled. We 
have known several instances, where during the night, 
neighbors have gone in search of the owner or his stable- 
man, to inform them of unusual sounds coming from the 
stable, and were thus instrumental in preventing accident 
and saving life. 

The carriage-house or room is mostly under the 
same roof with the stable, and divided from it by a parti- 
tion of boards, bricks, or lime and plaster ; a door for com- 
munication being made in the manner or place as exhibited 
in the ground plan of a stable here presented, capable of 



THE CARRIAGE-HOUSE. 



41 



holding five horses, three ordinary sized carriages, harness, 
and saddles sufficient for the estahlishment. 




Ground Plan of Phillips's Stable. — A, Stalls; B, Hay-rack; C, Carriage-house; 
D, Doors ; E, Closet for harness, with glass doors ; F, Stairs to the hay-loft, &c. ; 
G, Manger ; H, Stench-trap ; W, Windows. 

There is nothing suggestive ahout the coach-house re- 
quiring notice, except that it be kept dry and clean, and 
that the communicating door be always kept closed, as the 
ammonia and gas from the horses in the stable are very 
injurious to the paint and varnish on the carriages. For 
the purpose of heating and keeping this apartment dry, we 
will, when speaking of an apparatus for the steaming of 
feed for the horses, refer to a plan that can be adopted 



42 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

without the use of the ordinary stove now in common use. 
As elsewhere stated, a portion of this section of the stable 
requires to be flagged or paved with stone or brick, upon 
which the carriage stands when it is being washed. This 
portion of the floor also should be sloped inward from 
its margins to the centre, where is placed an iron rack or 
perforated plate, through which the waste water falls into 
the proper channel leading to the sewer or tank. 

The HARNESS-ROOM OR CLOSET is the third division or 
apartment on the ground-floor of the stable, and requires 
no special remark, further than that all such places should 
be kept clean, dry, and with an ample supply of wooden 
pins or iron hooks upon which to hang the harness. The 
harness-closets should, for dryness and cleanliness, be a 
portion of the carriage-house where the influences of the 
stable cannot reach its contents ; for the gases of stables are 
extremely injurious to carriage-robes, mats, and leather of 
all kinds. Indeed, the harness-room may, in some instances 
at least, be properly called the "smoking-room;" and for 
which purpose, when it has a place for everything and 
everything in its place, no valid argument or objection can 
be raised against such use, but something may be urged in 
its favor, by insuring for it and all that is in it a more tidy 
appearance than perhaps would otherwise be accorded to 
it at all times were it exclusively used for harness and 



CHAPTER II. 

STABLES OF DIFFERENT KINDS. 
The Club, Livery, Sale, Kacing, Railroad, and Farm Stables. 

The variety of stables that we now propose to lay under 
contribution cannot, from their diversity, be described as 
one, or as a sample of its class, even in one city or town, 
not to speak of a much greater disparity when embracing 
the whole of the country. To attempt to describe a livery 
or sale stable, as it appears or is managed in one part of 
the city, would be a work of supererogation, as it would or 
could not apply to others dififerently situated and managed. 
To the groom more than to any other agency may be 
ascribed the uniformity of management in the stable of the 
gentleman throughout the country, and to the architect 
and builder, together with other circumstances, such as 
the means or taste of the owner, do we ascribe the uni- 
formity and style of stables in one city and the difference 
which may exist in the stables of another. 

The stable and its management claiming the most per- 
fection in our view of what a stable and proper care of a 

(43) 



44 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

horse should be, and next to that of the gentleman, is 
the 

Club Stable, 

which is so called, because a number of gentlemen, each 
having but one or two horses, unite together in keeping 
it, because of the difficulty of procuring a proper place 
where the best of care can be given outside of a private 
stable; or it may be with a desire for privacy, which is 
not accorded to them at a livery stable. In some instances 
it is the greater protection of the purse that has led to the 
establishment of the club stable. This last, of itself, is no 
inconsiderable matter, remembering as we do, the extrava- 
gant charges at livery for the keep of horses, and the kind 
of care and protection which in some livery stables is given 
to them — which is not commensurate with the present 
charges of from thirty to thirty-five dollars a month per 
horse, while oats are selling at from sixty-five to seventy 
cents per bushel. It would be an easy matter to estimate 
to a cent the difference of profit and loss resulting from 
club and livery stabling — if we could but know the rental 
or interest on the money invested in the purchase of the 
club stable, as well as on how many persons the pro rata 
would have to be assessed. We are inclined, however, on 
the side of profit, not to speak of other matters pertaining 
to the club, to give preference to this kind of stabling. 
A horse can be fed on any particular kind of feed, and in 
any q^uantity the owner may desire, which can only be 



THE CLUB STABLE. 45 

done in the private and club stable. Indeed, we can urge 
no good reason against this syestm of stabling, as it is pre- 
ferable under all circumstances to any other plan now in 
use. 

For the guidance of those who may contemplate an asso- 
ciation of this kind, we refer to the following series of 
rules and regulations, well adapted for the government 
of a club stable. So good are they that they have stood 
the test of time, and given satisfaction to horsemen for 
many years. Though (by provision) any article may be 
changed when found necessary, yet to this date they 
remain intact. 

PREAMBLE. 

We, the subscribers, have formed ourselves into an associa- 
tion for the purpose of keeping a stable, and for the govern- 
ment thereof, have agreed upon the following rules and regu- 
lations, to wit : — 

ARTICLE I. 

The style and title of our association shall be known as the 
Club Stable. 



ARTICLE II. 

A regular stated meeting of the members shall be held at 

the stable, on the of every month. Notice shall be 

posted in the stable days previous to meeting, and each 

member failing to attend shall be fined $ — , if not present 
minutes after the time of meeting. 

ARTICLE III. 

members shall constitute a quorum for the trans- 
action of business, and a chairman and secretary shall be 
chosen at each meeting. 



46 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 



ARTICLE IV. 

rs and stalls 

cles to each stall. The purpose of the association being 
entirely for the keeping of horses, and vehicles for pleasure, 
no person keeping cars, carts, or wagons for hire, nor shall 
any doctor, be entitled to become a member of this association. 

ARTICLE V. 

No person shall be admitted a member of this association, 
unless he shall receive two-thirds of the votes of the members 
present, nor shall any member be expelled unless two-thirds 
of the members present shall vote for expulsion. The vote 
upon election or expulsion shall be by ballot. Upon the elec- 
tion of a member, he shall pay $ — initiation fee. 

ARTICLE VI. 

A caterer shall be elected from among the number, who 
shall continue in office till his resignation or dismissal for non- 
attendance to his duties. 

ARTICLE VII. 

It shall be the caterer's duty to procure provender, to hire 
and superintend the hostlers, to receive the monthly assess- 
ments and fines, to give notice of the monthly meetings, to keep 
accounts of all receipts and expenditures, and to present said 
account at each regular meeting. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

At the regular meeting, the assessments for the keep of each 
horse for the ensuing month shall be fixed. It shall be the 
duty of each member to pay his proportion to the caterer 
within one week from the time of said meeting, and on failing 
to do so shall be subject to a fine of $ — for each horse, which 
shall be doubled each week until paid. 



THE CLUB STABLE. 47 



ARTICLE IX. 

Each horse shall receive an equal quantity of food, and in 
case any member shall desire a larger quantity given his horse, 
he shall be charged with the same ; but no allowance shall be 
made for feeding less than the regular quantity. If any mem- 
ber shall remove his horse for any time exceeding one week, 
an allowance for feed shall be made on his assessment, pro- 
vided he gives the caterer notice at the time the horse leaves 
and returns. 

ARTICLE X. 

No horse having a contagious disease will be allowed in the 
stable, and it shall be the duty of the owner of said horse to 
remove him as soon as the same is known, and should he 
refuse, a meeting of the members shall be called by the caterer, 
when steps shall be taken for his immediate removal, and at 
the next regular meeting the said member shall be expelled. 

ARTICLE XI. 

In order to settle misunderstandings between two members 
in matters appertaining to the stable, each shall choose a 
member of the association, by whom a third shall be chosen, 
who shall act as arbitrators, and after an impartial hearing 
of the matter in dispute, their decision shall be binding. 

ARTICLE XII. 

Any person wishing to resign from the association shall 
give written notice to the caterer at least one week prior to 
the regular meeting, and then, if his proportion of expenses be 
fully paid, his resignation shall be accepted, and the stall dis- 
posed of by the association to such party as may after 

weeks previous to the regular meeting receive two-thirds of the 
votes of the members present, thereby becoming a member. 
5 



48 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 



ARTICLE XIII. 

In case a member shall sell his stall and propose the party 

purchasing it in his place for membership, weeks' notice 

must be given. In case said party shall not be elected, then 
the association reserves the right of taking said stall at a valu- 
ation by referees appointed, as in article eleven. The referee 
of the association shall be selected at the regular meeting. 
In case of expulsion, the stall shall be taken by the association, 
at a valuation by the referees selected as above. 

ARTICLE XIY. 

No member is allowed to give a fee or perquisite to the 
hostlers, their wages being a full equivalent for their services. 

ARTICLE XT. 

No member shall give or sell the use of his stall to a person 
not a member of this association, unless he obtains the consent 

of members, and then at the regular meeting, if such 

assent is not confirmed by two-thirds of the votes of the mem- 
bers present, such horse must be removed. In case of refusal 
to remove by said member, proceedings must be taken as in 
Article X. ^ 

ARTICLE XVI. 

Should any member refuse to comply with these articles he 
may be expelled, 

ARTICLE XVII. 

Any of the foregoing articles may be altered or amended 
and new articles introduced, with the consent of two-thirds of 
the members present. 

Any person who does not object to an agreement such 
as is embraced in the articles just quoted, and possessed 
with a reasonable amount of sociability and judgment of 



THE CLUB STABLE. 49 

human nature, cannot fail to find everything well suited 
to the care of his horses and carriage, in a stable conducted 
by gentlemen willing to be guided by such provisions of 
stable management, having the control of feeding, groom- 
ing, &c., with power of dismissing an incompetent person 
employed, and the substitution of a more accomplished one. 

An establishment so conducted is as comfortable for the 
owner and his horse, and as exclusive as though in a private 
stable, and at a cost much less than in any other stable or 
by any other plan. A better class of grooms is always to 
be found than is seen in the livery stable, which, to speak 
the truth, are the lowest kind of persons, with no responsi- 
bility, and usually never to be relied upon. Even the 
hand in the purse-pocket fails to produce service in a satis- 
factory manner : either horse, harness, or carriage will be 
neglected. The partiality of the livery-stable groom for the 
liberal person to the injury of others, finds no place in the 
stables of the club or private gentleman. There is no 
safety for a first-class horse, carriage, &c., outside of the 
club and private establishment of the owner, managed and 
superintended by direction of a superior mind. 

The club stable, as conducted in Philadelphia, possesses 
all the advantages of livery stables, with few of their draw- 
backs, and with all the advantages of the stable of the 
gentleman, and at a much less expense or trouble to him- 
self in the daily duty of a personal visit, and in some 
instances of an examination of the affairs of the stable. 
The pay of the hostlers or grooms, the rent of the stable, 



50 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

and all matters connected therewitli, except it be the feed, 
is assessed in equal proportions among the members, and no 
more is paid for the haj, oats, &c., than is consumed or 
fed to the horse. Thus it will be seen that for a small 
expense, a gentleman can keep his horse with the advan- 
tages of a private stable, escape the extortions and dis- 
comforts of a livery stable, and insure proper attention and 
comfort to his horse and care for his carriage and 
harness. 

The livery stable is an institution of our country 
that we cannot boast of either in buildings, accommodations 
for horses, or their safety. If, as is already shown, 
the superiority of horse management exists with us in the 
stable of the private gentleman, or the association of the 
club is above that of the cities of the Old World, the same 
claim cannot be advanced in favor of the livery stables of the 
New World. The livery stable is a place where horses are 
kept at a certain rate per horse, by the day, week, or month. 
If the accommodations for the horse and the care of har- 
ness and carriage were as well defined as the charge for 
them, perhaps not much could be truthfully said against 
them. But, not unlike the horse cars on a stormy night, 
'' more room inside" when not a foot of standing-place can 
be had, crowding and jostling in one confused mass together, 
true to the principles of the avaricious, and of some 
corporations, like unto the " Old Sexton," their song 
always is 

" We gather them in, we gather them in," 



THE LIVERY STABLE. 51 

until at last there is room for none, and discomfort for all. 
It may be asked why the livery system of keeping horses 
is so distasteful to us ? This can only be answered by per- 
sonal experience and observation, and comparison of other 
establishments of a more private character. It is an 
always understood principle of trade, that a person gets 
what he pays for, whether it be a peck of oats or a bale of 
goods; but in the feed of a horse at livery, the promise 
must be taken for the performance — the shadow for the 
substance. 

There are, however, some good livery stables amongst 
us, but they are an exception; and if it were not con- 
sidered invidious, we would with pleasure give the 
names and locations of them in the principal cities of the 
seaboard. This only can be the excuse for our silence in 
the exceptions just alluded to. To have a horse at livery 
is to subject him to sickness brought to the stable by 
horses from all parts of the country, and suffering from 
infectious and contagious diseases. This is one explana- 
tion of the prevalence of epizootic disease in the livery 
stable, when found or seen nowhere else at the same time. 
The livery stable, like the tenement house, is the nursery 
for the production of disease. The horse for sale or 
exchange is here brought to be disposed of, not unusually 
diseased, and no one daring to say a word against it or to 
inform the patrons of the stable, till other horses in the 
livery have the same disease; then the veterinary surgeon 
is sent for, and is perhaps the first to detect the source 
5* 



62 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

from whence the sickuess came. When the mischief is 
done, all sorts of excuses are made ; "no one to blame;" the 
head man declares himself entirely ignorant of the bring- 
ing of such a horse to the stable, and by way of sympathy 
for the loss, a new horse is at once offered that would just 
suit instead of the one lost. The law of supply and 
demand in the livery stable is well understood. We 
may be wrong, but have often said that it is not the desire 
of the keeper of a livery, sale, or exchange stable, that the 
horse of a gentleman of means (having use and a taste for 
horses) should live and get over whatever disease the 
animal may have had, as an opening is thus made for a 
sale which could not be effected had it lived and got 
entirely well again. There are more horses destroyed 
from want of care and good management in the livery, sale, 
or exchange stables of Philadelphia, than from all other 
places and stables combined, but from what cause, we 
would have others inquire. The great expense of horse 
feed ] the over-crowded condition of the place ; bad ventila- 
tion, light and drainage ', lazy, indolent, drunken, low-priced 
men kept for grooms, in some of these stables, are sufficient 
to create disease among horses. At livery, almost all the 
pleasure-horses leave the stable at one or near the same 
time and return about the same — thus throwing too many 
warm and exhausted horses upon the too few and inex- 
perienced hands. Some are left to cool in the open air, or 
perhaps in a draught — a chill is produced, lung fever sets 
in, and death or a thick-winded horse is the consequence. 



THE LIVERY STABLE. 53 

We have said nothing as to the care the harness and car- 
riages receive in such places,, the jarring them together, 
scratching the paint and.varnish, trampling of the shafts 
by the feet of horses, and men totally indifferent to all 
surroundings — suggestive of an understanding with the 
harness-maker and carriage-builder. 

The subject of livery stables is not an interesting one, 
and we feel sorry that we can see nothing in their manage- 
ment to be recommended and adopted in the care of horses 
and carriages, while there is much to avoid and condemn, 
A remedy for this state of things in the livery stable can 
only be brought about by a stricter observance of those 
laws of nature, the violation of which entails their just and 
sure punishment, but unfortunately not always upon the 
cause of their violation. 

The keeper must be a man of temperate, business habits, 
conducting his stable affairs honestly and impartially 
toward his patrons. A set of wise and good rules should be 
framed and enforced, under pain of dismissal for disobedi- 
ence of them ; employ and pay good and capable stable- 
men ; allow the full measure of feed to the horses, and if 
this cannot be profitably done at the prices charged, make 
this known in an intelligible manner to the owners, and if 
assured of good treatment (which is true economy) each 
will pay better prices, and thus insure the comfort of his 
favorite horse. Rather reach the pocket of a gentleman 
by a plain statement than by the stomach of a hungry 
horse ; make the patrons feel by word and deed that their 



54 AMERICAS^ STABLE GUIDE. 

horses are as well cared for in his stable, so far as feed and 
comfort are concerned, as in the stable of the owner. The 
advantages alluded to in our review of the club stable, are 
not for the owners of several horses, but to such as own 
but one horse — as the physician, the baker, the gxocer, or 
the butcher — as it saves the expense of a separate stable 
and groom to take care of the animal. The putting a horse 
in a livery stable for such, may be the best and cheapest 
way, as the club stable excludes physicians and others lia- 
ble to be called upon at almost any time during the day 
or night. There is no remedy for this but to put up with 
the livery system, or to form clubs for themselves, and be 
guided by such rules as the peculiar nature of the work 
for their horses requires. 

The RACING STABLE may also be called the training 
stable, where horses are not only kept for racing, but also 
training for the race, road, &c. The racing stable in all 
particulars is not unlike other large stables, only being situ- 
ated out of the city, and alongside or convenient to a racing 
course or track. The Point Breeze stables and course, 
situated outside of Philadelphia; the course and stables 
on Long Island ; the more private one of Mr. Jerome of 
New York, are good examples of what is meant by a rac- 
ing stable. The latter we believe is used for running-horses, 
the others for the trotting-horse. There is no uniformity 
in the style of buildings, nor the management of horses in 
such establishments. We have seen none of these stables, 
but an improvement in them could be made, and with this 



THE RACING STABLE. 



55 



purpose in view, we present a ground plan possessing some 
advantages over most of those in use for such purpose. 
The race-horse should always be allowed a loose-box, to 
insure absolute and entire rest after severe exertion, 




FEET. 
Racing Stable. 

to enable him to recover in the shortest time from his 
fatigue. The plan, as will be seen, is divided into four 
separate stables, thirty-six feet long and eighteea wide. 
The proportions of a loose-box, for the tired racer or horse 



56 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

that may at any moment be called upon for the exercise 
of all its powers, should be from sixteen to eighteen feet 
long, by about twelve feet wide. Horses of slower and 
more regular work will not require so large a box. 

Sometimes there are two men in charge of a single horse, 
feeding, grooming, exercising, or training it, in a way each 
individual thinks best. For our part, we have seldom seen 
a horse sent to such places, and managed according to the 
whim of the trainer, return improved in health, vigor, or 
speed ; but can recall many instances where good horses 
have been ruined in wind and limb by the injudicious and 
often cruel manner of the trainer, in the endeavor to 
exact a rate of speed that by nature the animal was never 
designed to perforai. Yet the man of the sulky and jockey- 
cap could not see how this could be so. All horses are 
not Flora Temples or Dexters, and to credit the man who 
through force of circumstances became the trainer of such 
fast animals with their great speed is absurd^ as he would be 
performing an impossibility, and laying claim to a power 
that can never be attained but by the hand of Nature, pro- 
per selection and judicious breeding. We do not, how- 
ever, say that good and careful training has nothing to do 
with the development of speed ; the training of the pugilist 
and the acrobat for their subsequent performances would 
dispel such a delusion. But at the same time, all men are 
not fitted by nature to become experts at such callings, nor 
are all horses that find their way to the racing or training 
stable adapted to perform their mile in 2.40, even with the 



THE RACING STABLE. 57 

aid of excellent and well adapted training for the formation 

and physical powers of the horse. 

The breed, formation, condition, and physical powers of 

all horses should be well studied and understood before 

undue exertion is exacted of, or cruelty inflicted on any 

horse sent to be trained to a certain rate of speed for the 

race or road. To prepare horses for severe exertion,, it is 

a practice to cause the horse to sw^eat profusely in order to 

• 
make wind and limb fine. To this, when properly carried 

out, we cannot object, but we do object to the severe exer- 
tion exacted from the horse at the expense of nervous 
energy, which should be possessed by every horse in order 
to make a trotter of him. The hoods and heavy 
blankets may all be necessary to cause sweating, but not 
without exertion and injury to both feet and legs. All 
this may be avoided by a judicious use of the Turkish 
bath, thus saving the strength and scarcely disturbing or 
causing an increased action of the heart. Indeed, the 
sweating process is produced by the bath to any extent or 
degree, without in the least affecting the powers of the 
horse. This is the proper way to prepare horses for severe 
exertion without injury. Repeated doses of aloes were, and 
we believe are still used, for the preparation of the hunter 
and racer in some establishments in Europe ; but this is 
fast giving place to a heated box or Turkish bath, which 
process will be treated of in another place, and to which 
attention should be given. The extreme exertion demanded 
from some horses while under training is not only unneces- 



58 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

sary, but even cruel, when we consider that it is exacted 
at and during a time, when by the nature of animal life, 
fatigue and exhaustion produces diaphoresis and conse- 
quent weakness. 

The RAILROAD STABLES here treated of are those in use 
by horse or city street car companies. They are of large 
dimensions and well adapted for such purposes, being pro- 
vided with almost every contrivance to save labor and pro- 
mote the health of the horse. The steam grist or corn- 
mill, chaff or hay-cutter, are among some of the fixtures 
to be found in such establishments. Although fitted up 
expressly for the comfort of the horse, we are not aware 
that any of them have been provided with a feed-steaming 
apparatus, by which feed would be made palatable to the 
animal, and profitable to the stockholders. We think this 
is an important omission, where so many hard-working 
horses are kept, as a large percentage can be saved by 
cooking, and the animals thus fed show an improved con- 
dition. Some persons may say that feed thus prepared is 
too soft for horses used for the city car or railroad work ; 
this is an error, especially when the feed is prepared by 
steam, and not softened by diluting with v\^ater. 

But to return to the city car stables. From their extent, 
construction, conveniences, and fine appearance, we are 
led to think of the great improvement over the old stage 
and omnibus stables of the past. The stables alone may 
not be the sole agency in keeping the horses in so excellent 
a condition, but they have a great deal to do with it. The 



THE RAILROAD STABLES. 59 

superior ventilation^ light, and cleanliness of these places 
have almost banished glanders and farcy from our midst. 
Some of the poorer companies, however, are still unpro- 
vided with sufficient accommodations for their horses; and 
it is noticeable that the horses of such companies do not 
look so well, and are not as able to perform their work, 
although they are of precisely the same character. 

We merely mention this to show that the cause of the 
debility of horses was not the work of drawing a lumber- 
ing omnibus along the cobble-paved streets, but was due 
to inferior stabling, as evinced by the superiority of the 
horses of well regulated roads over those badly regulated, 
and with inefficient and improper stabling. 

It is the general remark of horsemen, that the stock of 
horses on certain lines of road look w^ell, while those on 
others are poor and bad, although the average number of 
miles travelled by each car horse is about twenty-four 
each day of the week ; and moreover those that look best 
are on roads where the cars are filled nearly all the time, 
and are consequently more burthensome to the horses. 

This difiference in the condition of horses similarly 
employed cannot be set down to the extra work performed, 
but to the better adaptation of the stable to its inmates. 
The care bestowed would make a diflPerence,'but we believe 
the feed and care to be about the same, as from 12 to 15 
horses in car stables are intrusted to the care of one man. 
The only difference between them in this particular is, that 
in some stables the feed is measured and served out by one 
6 



60 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

person to all the horses in the stable j and in others, each 
man mixes and feeds the horses of which he has the care. 
Thus it will be seen that it is at least as much for the good 
of horses so employed that they should be provided with 
good stabling, as that they should be lightly worked to 
keep up a certain condition and fitness for work, or good 
appearance. To keep a horse and give him light work 
will not insure a high standard of good health if he be 
kept in a dark, damp, ill-ventilated and badly constructed 
place called a stable. 

We feel that it is not necessary to say much about the 
management of city car stables, and perhaps would not 
have alluded to them at all, but for the good condition of 
the horses which are stabled in some of them, and to which 
we often refer when illustrating the effects of good stabling 
and mixed feed, that form the food of most of them. The 
feed, as already hinted at, is what some persons call mixed, 
chopped, or soft feed, and which some stablemen, par- 
ticularly draymen and carters have an aversion to, upon 
the ground that it is too soft ; but if their true thoughts 
were known, their objections would be found in the trouble 
of cutting the hay or straw, and mixing it with water and 
corn-meal during the dinner hour, or when they come to 
the stable after the day's work is over. This can be the 
only true reason, because chopped feed, when properly pre- 
pared, and of proper, sound materials, is the safest, 
strongest and most economical feed that can be given to a 
hard-worked horse, not of too fast work. The mixture 



THE FARM STABLE. 61 

given to the horses of one of the principal lines in Phila- 
delphia is corn-meal fifteen pounds, cut hay sufficient to 
give bulk to the mess, a little salt, and water enough to 
merely moisten the mixture. This quantity is divided into 
three feeds, one given in the morning, the others at noon 
and night. Some horses do not eat so much ; but this is 
the average quantity that a horse will eat during the 
twenty-four hours, when travelling twenty-four miles daily 
and attached to street cars. The mode of feeding car 
horses, is referred to by us as being the best adapted to 
horses travelling at the rate of from six to eight miles in 
the hour. For horses of faster work, one such feed should 
be allowed, and that in the evening after all work is done, 
for the day and night. Some horses of poor appetite are 
in addition allowed a sprinkling of bran over the mixture, 
to whet their appetite and induce them to eat their feed. We 
do not think that any class of horses for any kind of work 
can be fed more cheaply than on the feed of car horses-, and 
with the same condition and flesh maintained. Chemists 
may tell us that maize or Indian corn produces caloric or 
heat in the body, and that oats are wanted to produce mus- 
cle, which we have here without the aid of oats, wheat, or 
barley. 

The farm stable must be accepted as a building of 
many devices, shapes and appearances, situated often iu 
places badly adapted for it, and often not at all suited for 
the safe keeping of horses. The means of the farmer have 
in most instances been the only consideration, when it 



62 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

was devised and built ; for if this were not tlie case, it 
■would not to day almost throughout the whole extent of 
the country be a house holding almost every product, 
utensil, and species of animal on the farm. The stable of 
the farm is a series of houses or apartments within a house, 
and used for as many purposes, however diverse from one 
another; thus, in one building are the hay and straw 
apartments, the granary, carriages, harness, and all the 
farm implements in the upper portion of the stable, called 
the barn, while in the lower will be found the horses, oxen, 
sheep, cows and calves. The stables of most farmers are 
not only unworthy of the name, but are not at all suited 
for the purpose of keeping horses in safety or health ; and 
were it not for the nature of the farm horse's work (on 
account of the poor accommodations given him in the so- 
called stable), he would be the victim of malignant dis- 
eases. On a common level, without a partition, stand the 
oxen, cows and horses, breathing the same contaminated 
air, in a place often without ventilation and light, and 
generally reeking with the gases arising from damp and 
decaying manure. 

. The horse while within doors is compelled to stand or 
lie down upon the accumulations of months. This is a 
poor arrangement, and could be easily abolished by merely 
systematizing the labor of the day, and without extra 
expense. The manure has at some time or other to be 
removed ; then why occupy a day or two every few months, 
when ten minutes each day before the morning meal would 



THE FARM STABLE. 63 

do it ? This evil of allowing the dung to lie for weeks 
and months among the horses' feet- is but the force of a 
habit which the farmer and his hired man have acquired, 
to the injury of his horses' health, and the destruction of 
his harness-leather and carriage-paint. 

The ventilation of farm stables can scarcely be called by 
that name, as the upper portion, filled with hay, straw, &c,, 
efiectually cuts off all communication with the roof of the 
barn, and thus natural ventilation is prevented. The "air 
that is admitted by crevices in the lower walls is perhaps 
enough ; but when inhaled by and expelled from the lungs, 
there is no upper opening through which it may ascend ; 
hence all its impurities must settle, some on the walls and 
fixtures, to be again and again inhaled, until, from its 
weight of impurity, it is prevented floating in the air of 
the place. We have in Chapter I. already referred to 
the poison in this deposit, not as a curiosity in nature, but 
as something to be dreaded and avoided, through the instru- 
mentality of ventilation or pure air and cleanliness in all 
places where animals are confined. 

The folly of " carrying too many eggs in one basket" is 
no greater than that of the farmer in converting his stable 
into a tool-house, a barn, and a byre. Let the vivid light- 
ning or the incendiary's torch strike this place, and what 
can be saved ? In the confusion of the moment, you 
know not what to get out first — the horses, oxen, cows, 
grain, carriages, farm tools, or machinery. There is too 
much to do in the few moments that may be allowed on 
6-"- 



64 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

sucli unfortunate occasions — " there are too many eggs in 
that basket/' 

Farmers may console themselves on the comparative 
immunity from fire in the country. This is no excuse for 
the present arrangements of the agriculturists' stables. In 
our experience and lifetime, many farm stables in Penn- 
sylvania and New York have been consumed by fire from 
natural causes, the incendiary, or by accident, and nothing 
leffr of their contents but a charred and blackened mass, as 
an emphatic rebuke to such imperfect arrangements. 

This condition of country stables should long ago have 
been remedied; but "better late than never.'' The 
excuse of poverty can no longer be the plea, in the face of 
the high prices for the products of the farm, which has 
enabled so many of them to pay off their mortgages. 



COOLEY'S PATENT LOCK HASP. 




The above cut represents a combination of lock and liasp 
for stable doors and other out-buildings. It is made of 
malleable iron, very strong, and can be used as a hasp and as 
a lock. It contains four tumblers, and can only be opened 
with a thin key, as represented by figure 1. It is pecu- 
liarly adapted to stable doors, as there is no long-handled 
key to be caught by the harness when horses are going in 
or out of the stable. 



(65) 



CHAPTEE III. 

DIETETICS, HYGIENE, AND REGIMEN. 
Chemistry — Quality and Quantity of Eood — Water— Oats— Corn. 

Baron Liebig compares tlie bodies of animals to a loco- 
motive engine, in which air, water, and fuel, working 
together, generate heat and power. The food is the fuel, 
without which the machinery would be useless. The food 
and water supply the material necessary to repair what is 
lost by wear and tear of the machine. He says there are 
three conditions necessary to constitute food of perfect 
quality : a certain quantity of albumen (a familiar illustra- 
tion of which is the white of egg), furnishing an important 
constituent to the blood, and is also the material of all the 
plastic portions of the body — a proportion of heat-giving 
substances, chiefly appropriated in the vital process, and 
nutritive salts, without which the. other two cannot give 
nourishment. Any one of these substances alone could 
not support life, and only in that food where they are 

(66) 



FEEDING. 67 

united is found perfect nourishment. The health of ani- 
mal life depends on the proportion of the different kinds 
of food, both in quantity and quality. These proportions 
differing greatly in each animal, must be determined by 
the general state of health, and the nature and amount of 
daily work to be done. 

It is a practicable problem for every one to solve, by 
careful observation, what quality and quantity is especially 
wanted or suited to each animal, in proportion to its condi- 
tion and daily labor, for lengthening its life and promoting 
its powers. The daily work of each animal bears a rela- 
tion to its muscular power, and this again depends on the 
nutrition it receives from the quality and quantity of food 
allowed, consumed, and assimilated. 

The feed given to animals or beasts of burden should be 
in accordance with the labor performed. In order that the 
working power shall be kept up, the food must contain 
sufficient albumen to supply what is lost in the body. In 
some horses the amount of food required to be given at a 
time must be in proportion to the rapidity with which it 
can be assimilated. It therefore follows, that for hard 
work, horses should not be fed with bran-mashes and soft 
grass, which are too easily and rapidly assimilated, but 
with corn, oats, &c., which require a longer time to digest. 
But when horses are not hard worked or their strength 
not severely taxed, less corn or oats will be required. 

Horses during a season of idleness can maintain perfect 
health with far less concentrated food, as corn, &c., than is 



6S AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

necessary in times of hard work. This seems to be well 
understood among horsemen of all grades; or, if it be not, 
how are we to account for the great diversity of the feed- 
ing of horses everywhere ? The horse for pleasure, or for 
the family carriage of the gentleman, does not require the 
amount of food that is demanded by the horses attached to 
the scrapers of the contractors of the Pacific Railroad, 
which are fed five pounds of barley three times daily, with 
as much bunch or buffalo grass as they can eat at night. 
Horses consuming a less quantity of feed would not stand 
the work exacted from them, because of their faulty diges- 
tion and slow assimilation. A good measure of the value 
of the working properties of a horse is, the less feed eaten 
the less is he able to stand severe work. Thus we are 
often told by the owner of a horse, that if it could but eat 
twelve quarts of oats in the day, the animal could go 
faster, stand the exertion, and would be greatly increased 
in value ; but as it is, the exertion of to-day destroys his 
speed and appetite on the morrow. This is one of the 
reasons why but about nine per cent, of the horses bought 
by a certain city railroad company in this city stand the 
work for any length of time. Thus the boiler cannot gen- 
erate steam to keep the machinery long enough in motion. 
The carriage-horse used by ladies for carrying them to the 
shop, the opera, or the ball, requires -but little feed, when 
we compare its work with that of the animal in the dray, 
railroad car, or business wagon. 

The keeper of the livery stable is well aware of the 



FEEDING. 69 

relation existino- between the feed and the work of a horse. 



and charges an extra price for the keep of one that works 
ten to twelve hours in the twenty-four over the other 
that is at work about three to four, and many days are 
not worked at all. 

In our climate, a difference in the kind of food should 
be made, not that the horse is just as susceptible to a 
change in his food at all times as man is, but in winter, 
feed capable of developing a greater degree of caloric or 
heat in the body is required. Corn produces heat, gives 
roundness to the body, and in cold weather should form a 
portion at least of the feed of horses. Chemists tell us 
that in winter oats make more muscle or flesh than corn, 
and therefore should form part of the feed of working- 
horses — the harder the work the greater the demand for 
oats. What are we to do or say in such matters, when 
science and experience do not agree as it seems they 
apparently and sometimes really do ? Thus, hundreds of 
hard-working horses in Philadelphia are fed exclusively on 
corn-meal and cut hay, yet the body is fat and round, the 
muscles well developed and capable of great exertion, as 
can be seen in the horses of some of the city railroads, 
which are fed only with fifteen pounds of corn-meal divided 
into three meals, with cut hay, a little salt, and mixed with 
water. This feed will when well considered be not only 
excellent as a strong and healthy, but as a very economical 
one, costing for each horse daily not over thirty-five to 
forty cents, including hay and salt. 



70 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

We can illustrate more fully the various plans of feed- 
ing, and the demands made for such diversity, by introduc- 
ing to our readers the character and quantity of feed given 
the celebrated trotting-horse " Dexter," the property of 
Robert Bonner, Esq., New York, kept for his driving and 
pleasure, used we believe in single harness and attached 
to a light trotting-wagon, and driven from twelve to fifteen 
miles in the afternoon, but not every day. In the morn- 
ning he is allowed all the water he will drink, after which 
two quarts of oats are given, and when eaten, half an 
hour's walking exercise is enforced ; when he is brought 
home again (which is usually about 9 o'clock A. M.) he 
gets two more quarts of oats ; but if no drive for the after- 
noon, half to three-quarters of an hour more exercise of a 
gentle nature is exacted, and at 1 o'clock p. m., two quarts 
of oats are fed, and in the afternoon if he be driven, which 
is about fifteen miles, on coming into the stable he is rubbed 
dry, a swallow of water is given, and from five to six^ 
pounds of hay is placed before him. If the work has been 
a little extra, he is treated to two quarts of oat-meal gruel, 
and when well cooled off, half a bucket of water and three 
quarts of oats, with two quarts of bran moistened with hot 
water. On days of great speed, the allowance of water is 
reduced. 

Thus it is seen, that this pleasure horse is fed upon nine 
quarts of oats and two of bran, and from five to six pounds 
of hay, in the twenty-four hours, costing for oats about 
twenty cents per day; bran, say five cents; hay, seven 



FEEDING. 71 

cents, making a total of thirty-two cents for feed. It will 
be observed that it costs within a few cents as much to 
feed a horse used for pleasure driving when oats are given, 
as it does to feed a hard-working horse on corn-meal ; but 
it does not follow that a hard-worked horse could be kept 
in condition with nine quarts of oats per day, nor that the 
pleasure horse would require fifteen quarts of corn-meal a 
day to insure a good working condition. How difficult as 
well as unnecessary is it for us to fix a certain quantity 
and quality of food to be given to all horses, when age, 
condition, and work are not the same ! This discrepancy, 
however, is, for the intelligent stableman, easily overcome 
by a little observation of tjie feeding capacity and condi- 
tion of each individual horse under his care. It is safe to 
allow some horses of weak constitution to eat all the feed 
they can consume, and that will not be too much to main- 
tain them in flesh and in working order; their appetites 
being the only measure required for daily use, at least dur- 
ing the season of work. The work is the regulator of the 
consumption of feed, as with such horses, the harder the 
work the less will they eat, and vice versa, when a limit 
to the quantity should be made. 

The horses of railroad contractors and railroad compa- 
nies, as a general average, get fifteen pounds of barley or 
corn-meal each day. It is found, however, that many ani- 
mals will not eat so much, but others will eat much more 
than this allowance, and are much more able to perform 
their work — another confirmation of the necessary propor- 
7 



72 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

tion of the quantity of feed consumed to the amount of 
work exacted. 

The greater the steam capacity of a boiler, the greater 
the power of the engine ; likewise, the more perfect diges- 
tion and quicker the assimilation of the food, so will the 
power of the horse be. Unfortunately, however, this rela- 
tion of the amount and quality of food to the work de- 
manded is not always properly understood or appreciated, 
because some persons argue, " no work, little feed," for- 
getting that the wear and tear of the system is always 
going on, and has to be repaired, work or no work, if the 
horse is to be kept in health and condition. All over this 
amount of feed may be kept back, and replaced when work 
is on hand. 

The quantity and quality of food required for the keep- 
ing of a horse in health and flesh during idleness is as 
difficult to determine as fixing the amount of feed to be 
given to all horses of every work. A horse well-ribbed 
home, short-jointed, and of good disposition, will subsist 
on much less food than one long-sided, loose- jointed, and 
of irritable temper, whether in idleness or during work. 
This can only be ascribed to a more perfect, although per- 
haps not a more quickened assimilation in one class of 
animal over that of the other. Some animals will fatten 
on straw in the barn-yard, while others will starve, become 
diseased, and perhaps die from its effects. 

The poor man with his one horse, upon which he and his 
family depend for their daily bread, should learn the im- 



FEEDING, 73 

portant lesson, that to feed a certain formation of horse is 
an easy matter, when compared to the demands of another, 
and in nowise better adapted for work. To do a certain 
amount of work, the former horse will require less food 
than the latter, and, although he can do it with less food, 
it does not follow that he is not a good feeder and worker, 
or that it is requisite to feed him to the full amount of his 
consuming capacity. The young horse should not be fed 
with the same quality and quantity of food that is given to 
animals of eight, ten, or twelve years of age ; hence he is 
not fit to work so hard. The feed of young animals should 
principally be soft, nutritious, and in greater bulk than 
that given to or required by older ones. This will prevent 
many diseases to which they are subject if fed with stimu- 
lating feed in small bulk or in high concentration. 

To keep the old horse in condition and health, he must 
be fed on feed capable, to a great degree, of generating 
caloric in the body as well as of adding to the red corpus- 
cles of the blood. 

Horses suffering from spavin or disease of the joints of 
the legs, require a more generous diet than those in perfect 
condition. 

The size of the pony and small sorts of horses should 
also be considered when proportioning their allowance of 
feed. 

The brood-mare, when kept in the stable, demands some 
consideration, inasmuch as soft, nutritious, and bulky feed 
is best adapted to her condition, which requires fresh-cut 



74 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

grass, clover, boiled turnips, carrots, &c., insuring a strong, 
healthy colt and a safe parturition. 

The feed of the stallion, or entire horse, during the 
season of service, or when used for mares, should be full, 
nutritious, and somewhat stimulating, consisting of the 
plumpest and heaviest oats, some corn, and sound timothy 
hay occasionally, mixed with fresh-cut grass, to regulate 
the secretions and neutralize the effects of the heating of 
the body and blood by the stimulating feed. 

The feeding of mules we notice only to say, that the full 
feeding of corn or oats that is usually fed to horses of ordi- 
nary work, will keep three working mules in excellent order 
if plenty of rough feed or hay be allowed them. They are 
good eaters of hay, not more so than horses, perhaps, but 
eat much less solid and expensive food. 

The general principle for feeding horses is about as 
follows : — 

Horses should be watered from a brook, pond, or river, 
and not from wells or springs, as the well water is hard and 
colder, while the running stream is soft and rather warm. 
The preference of horses is for the soft, even though it be 
muddy water, to that which is hard. Horses should be 
allowed in summer time at least four waterings a day, and 
half a bucketful at a time, and in winter a pailful may be 
allowed morning and evening, which is sufficient to assuage 
their thirst without causing them to bloat or puff up. 
Care, however, should be taken that the horse is not put 
to work immediately after drinking a full bucket of water, 



FEEDING. 75 

especially if required to go fast, because digestion and 
severe exertion can never go on together, and moreover 
purging is apt to ensue. In some cases, broken wind or 
heaves is thus produced. Avoid giving warm or tepid 
water to horses that are often driven from home, because 
cold or well water will then perhaps be given them, which 
will be liable to produce a congestive chill, followed by 
lung fever, and in some cases colic. When horses are thus 
carefully watered, if one or more of them should refuse 
their accustomed food, something is wrong, and they 
should not be taken out of the stable to work, or driven 
further that day ; but an examination should be made as 
to the cause, with a view to its removal. 

Oats as a feed for horses are considered, by common 
consent, to be the best that can be used for such purpose, 
which is confirmed by the good condition of horses so fed, 
as well as by the chemical constituents produced from the 
oat. Happily, however, it is not obligatory , that oats 
should be exclusively fed to horses, as their cost is fre- 
quently much enhanced by the smallness of the crop. On 
the contrary, the cold of winter generally demands a feed 
of greater heating power than can be obtained from this 
grain. 

The standard weight of a bushel of oats is thirty-two 
pounds by law, but very rarely is this reached, especially 
for the last six or eight years, during which time the 
weight has been about twenty-six to twenty-eight pounds. 
In the purchase of oats, allowance can be claimed when 
7* 



T6 AMEEICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

they weigh less than thirty-two pounds, and an increase in 
price is usually demanded by the seller for any excess. 

Viewing oats as a feed in all their excellencies, we can- 
not be convinced but that they are -an extravagant and 
very expensive feed, unless we could believe that light or 
poor oats are as good for horse feed as those which are 
heavy and plump. 

European or Nova Scotian oats all seem to be fed alike — 
light or heavy, eight, ten, or twelve quarts — no allowance 
being made for their weight, and not unfrequently, also, 
without regard to the age, constitution, or work required 
of the animal. Horses thus treated cannot but be impro- 
perly fed — either too much or too little — forming thus the 
basis of disease of an exalted type when fed with heavy, 
and of a depressed kind when fed with light and poor oats. 

We are well aware that we are laying siege to the 
citadel of constituted opinion, when the value of oats for 
feeding horses is called in question; but what can be 
said when we tell horsemen that no two samples of oats, 
even when of equal weight per bushel, will give the same 
analysis, nor contain the same amount of nutrition. In 
addition to this, we have a great variety of oats, all differ- 
ing in value as a feed. Thus we have the common oat, 
the White, Poland, Early Angus, Hopetoun, Cumberland 
early, Tartarian, Potato, Sandy, Georgian, and many other 
kinds too numerous to mention. The weight and proper- 
ties of each depend not so much on the variety as upon 
the season, climate and soil on which they are grown. 



FEEDING. 77 

Yet, with all these discrepancies in the value of oats, they 
are still fed, not by the pound, but by the quart. Thus 
we see some horses kept in good working condition by 
feeding oats to them, but the major part demand an addi- 
tion of Indian corn to supply the wear and tear of the 
system under ordinary work, and for this purpose some 
horsemen add one bushel of corn to four of oats. 

It is the conviction of many who own a number of horses 
kept for work, that oats are deceptive, and not sufficient as 
a feed, with the usual allowance of hay combined. So 
extensively is this opinion held, that scarcely a hard work- 
ing horse can be found that is now fed exclusively on oats 
and hay. The poverty of the oats in general is such that 
few horses can consume enough of them to supply the sys- 
tem with nourishment commensurate with the work per- 
formed. We know of carriage horses not even in daily 
use and which when in harness are not taken out of the 
city, but merely used for shopping and visiting purposes, 
which require, to keep them in something like respectable 
condition in flesh, about twenty-four quarts in the day, 
together with sixteen pounds of timothy hay, and occa- 
sionally a mixture of bran in addition. Yet with all this, 
they are not in better order than animals fed on corn-meal 
and cut hay, and morever are not able to go faster or do 
harder work than those horses fed on corn-meal and cut 
hay. We are aware that these facts can never be recon- 
ciled with the theory of the chemist and the prejudices of 
the stablemen ; nevertheless where such conflict occurs, as 



78 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE.. 

it occasionally does, we are bound to decide in favor of 
well-founded experience. 

We are told by foreign authority, tbat for a carriage or 
saddle horse, half a peck of sound oats, weighing forty-five 
pounds to the bushel, and eighteen pounds of good hay are 
sufficient, and with less hay an addition of a quarter of a 
peck more of oats will be required. It is added, however, 
that a horse required to work harder should have more 
both of oats and hay. 

We will not presume to doubt the all-sufficiency of the 
above quantities, but can, without fear of contradiction 
assert that the same amount fed in bulk, will not keep a 
eixteen-hand carriage horse in good condition and working 
order in Philadelphia. With us, even a small fourteen- 
and-one-half-hand horse is not considered fit for good driv- 
ing, unless he can consume twelve quarts of oats and from 
ten to twelve pounds of hay. In Great Britain, the oats 
are better, and the streets and roads are good, which may 
account for some of the difi"erence. The climate and per- 
haps the constitution of the horses are better than with us, 
and if such be the case, it will also help to account for so 
small an allowance of oats to carriage horses. To keep 
carriage horses in good working condition, the chafi" or hay- 
cutter and corn-meal are found to be as indispensable in 
the private stable of the gentleman as they are in the sta- 
ble of the drayman, or of the railroad company with their 
hard-worked horses. 

The following will illustrate still further the unreliability 



FEEDING. 79 

of Pennsylvania oats as feed for our horses, both in regard 
to their efficacy and their economy. The report from the 
Honorable Commissioner of Agriculture for 1868, on the 
average production of the cereal crops of the country says, 
that 27.8 bushels to the acre is the amount, while in Great 
Britain the yield is 60 bushels. These figures of them- 
selves clearly show how costly it is to feed horses with 
oats gathered from so many acres of land that could pro- 
duce a larger and more substantial crop of corn, costing 
for horse feed less money, because of its sufficiency in keep- 
ing horses of hard work in excellent condition. We do 
not mean to advise the total exclusion of oats as a food from 
the stable, but to show that they can be readily substituted 
by a less costly and more nutritious feed. Oats when fed 
to old horses, should be ground or bruised to render them 
suitable for defective teeth, which cannot chew them when 
whole, and properly mix them with the saliva. To save 
the expense of a hay or straw-cutter as well as time and 
labor for cutting hay or straw into chaiF, many stablemen 
mix oats with corn-meal, making the feed into sufficient 
bulk, thus supplying the place of cut hay. This may 
answer a good purpose, but is too costly a mixture. 

Corn when cracked, or in the form of meal and mixed 
with material to give proper bulk, which in some degree 
is capable of neutralizing or destroying its heating proper- 
ties when fed to horses, is not only a valuable and substan- 
tial, but also an economical feed, and can be with safety 
fed to all kinds of horses of all manner of work. This has 



80 AMERICAN STABLE GUIBE. 

been clearly demonstrated eiglit to ten years ago, on the 
almost complete failure of the oat crop, and ever since it 
continues the principal feed of those horses that are kept 
for hard-work, the feed of which has been made matter of 
commercial calculation. 

The experience of feeders of stock of all kinds has 
shown that the fattening properties of Indian corn are 
surprisingly great, and to be preferred for this purpose to 
everything else ; moreover, it is preferred by most animals 
to almost every other kind of feed. It is rich in oil of a 
very pleasant kind, which is obtained in the distillation 
for making whiskey and alcohol. The following analysis 
of Indian corn according to Dana, made for the purpose 
of comparing its nutritive and fat-forming qualities with 
those of some other articles used for feeding, shows the 
great difference of what Dr.^ Dana calls the fat-forming 
principles in favor of corn, and does not surprise us, from 
what we have seen of its effects when fed to animals 

ANALYSIS OF CORN. 

Corn, 100 lbs. 
Containing of flesh-forming principles — gluten, 

albumen, &c. ... . . 1.26 

Fat-forming principles — gum, starch, sugar, 

woody fibre, oil, &c. ..... 88.43 

Water 9. 

Salts . . \ ■ 1.31 



100. 
The above table of analysis goes far in establishing the 



FEEDING. 



81 



soundness of the views entertained by Baussingalt and 
Pagen that phints are valuable for giving fat to animals 
only in proportion to the vegetable oils, ready formed, 
which such plants contain. 

To make a comparison of the feeding qualities of oats 
with corn, we give the following table by M. Saussure : 



ANALYSIS OF OATS. 





A.shes of C 


)ats, 100 parts. 


Soluble salts . 




1. 


Earthy phosphates . 


. 


24. 


Silicid .... 


. 


60. 


Metallic oxide 

Loss .... 


• • . . 


.25 
14.75 



100. 

Other analyses of oats could be given, although diiFering 
somewhat from the above, but not essentially, and all going 
to prove, however, that the oat is not so valuable for feed- 
ing animals as maize. Indeed, if there be any fault found 
with corn as a feed for horses, it is its great fattening 
qualities and stimulating effects. 

What would the poor of Grreat Britain have done some 
years ago, had it not been for the nutritive quality of 
maize and the happy repeal of the English Corn Law ? 
No other sort of feed is able to fatten animals so surely 
and so quickly as Indian corn. Ask the beef and pork 
packers of the West as to the value of corn, and they will 
tell you there is no such feed as a flesh and fat producer, 



82 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

or a more economical one. In the face of this array of 
favorable testimony, are we to deny to our horses what we 
feed to the swine? "We would ask, then, why is it that 
stablemen, in their selection of the feed of the horse, really 
reject the good and accept the indifferent? This would 
not be so universally the case were they to foot the feed- 
bill every month. Unfortunately, coachmen and grooms 
as a class have very indifferent notions on stable economy, 
the effects of which the owner may not feel; nevertheless 
it has to be paid for. 

The strength of a horse is not developed so much by the 
quantity and quality of solid feed he is fed upon as on the 
judicious training accorded him. Animals that remain 
long without work, as in the sale stable, are very apt to 
sicken and die within a short time, if placed immediately 
at hard work, without preliminary light exercise to gradu- 
ally develope the power that has departed during the 
period of inactivity. Therefore we do not comprehend the 
chemist, when he says the harder the work the more oats 
are to be fed, and can only excuse him when he takes the 
analogy from Northern Europe, where corn cannot be 
grown, and where the oat crop is found in its native ele- 
ment. But in this country no excuse can be given, where 
the luxuriance of the Indian corn crop cannot be equalled, 
and the oat crops are comparative failures. To pay one 
dollar a quart for Norway oats would not be considered 
economical to feed horses; neither is it good judgment to 
pay an extravagant price for light chaffy oats, scarcely 



FEEDING. 83 

weighing as heavy as the refuse of European oat-clearings, 
and feed them to horses, and then expect a full day's work 
from an insufficient feed. 

For horse feed, Indian corn possesses all the elements of 
warmth and nutrition, and is well calculated to supply the 
wear and tear of the system of the hardest worked horse, 
and keep him in a healthy condition, without any assistance 
from oats; but the usual addition of hay should be allowed 
to horses, whatever be the feed that is in use. We have 
thus shown, not only by chemical analysis, but by the 
teachings of experience, that corn* contains nearly all the 
elements of animal nutrition, and it therefore only remains 
for us to suggest a plan whereby corn can be fed, not only 
profitably to the owner, but with the best results to the 
horse. Before we attempt this, it may be necessary, how- 
ever, to state that ten pounds of sound timothy hay are 
equal, in point of nutrition as food for horses, to five 
pounds of oats, and ten pounds of clover hay are equal to 
about four of oats. Thus it will be seen, that to adopt the 
corn as a feed, and reject the oat, no injury can arise from 
the change as long as sufficient hay is allowed. Hay being 
the great auxiliary to oats, we do not see why its good 
offices should not be exercised with the same potential 

* Since the MS. was placed in the hands of the publishers, the 
half-yearly report for July, 1869, of the "London General Omni- 
bus Company," shows a saving of $70,000 as the result of feeding 
Indian corn instead of oats to their horses. 



84 AMEEICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

effects when corn is tlie feed, for we are almost certain 
that oats without the hay would be a much poorer feed 
than corn, under similar circumstances. 

By a reference to the analysis of corn, it will be observed 
that there is little loss from woody fibre or other inert sub- 
stance, but that it is wholly composed of flesh and fat- 
forming substances. It is this principle contained in corn 
that is to be modified and corrected as a feed, and not to 
be added to by a greater concentration of nutritive matter ; 
or, in other words, add to the corn materials that do not 
contain, or at least but in a small degree, those powerful 
constituents that characterize Indian corn ; and for this 
purpose we will recommend that the corn be in minute 
division, or ground into meal, to insure a greater diffusion 
in the stomach, and less concentration than would result 
by feeding it whole, and not mixed with extraneous matter, 
as cut hay, or chaff and a little bran. The bran is to pre- 
vent, or at least modify, the costive or binding and heating 
effects of the corn ; the chaff or cut hay is to give sufficient 
bulk to the feed, thereby keeping the bowels moist, and 
the meal from contraction. At the same time, the horse 
has a feed before him of which he can eat his fill without 
producing cramp or colic, which often results from feeding 
corn whole or in meal, without a sufficient mixture or 
bulk being given to it. It is the want of this knowledge, 
together with the extra trouble in cutting hay and mixing 
such a feed, that forms the chief argument of some stable- 
men against feeding with corn and in favor of oats. A 



\ 



FEEDING. 85 

carriage or saddle-horse used for shopping or afternoon 
rides or drives can be kept in excellent condition with six 
pounds of corn meal, three pounds of cut hay, two quarts 
of wheat bran, and a teaspoonful of salt, mixed with warm 
water in winter and cold in summer, the water to be just 
enough barely to moisten the mess and not make soft feed 
or slop to disturb the bowels of the horse and unfit him 
for exertion. 

The above-named mess is to be divided into three feeds, 
for morning, noon, and evening. An addition of six to 
eight pounds of hay must also be given in the rack. 
These quantities, however, are merely proximate, for the 
old horse and one of harder work will, to keep him in good 
condition, require an addition, and young animals of less 
work will not require so much. 

Draught and hard-worked horses should be fed more 
generously, say fifteen to sixteen pounds of meal, with six 
to eight pounds of cut hay, half a peck of bran, and an 
extra allowance of hay in the rack at night. 

Some persons have the corn ground along with the cob. 
To this there can be little objection — only it is a little difii- 
cult to know exactly by weight what amount of meal the 
horse is getting, except the full weight of the corn is 
allowed, and the ground cob in addition, which may with 
people of calculation obviate the necessity of an allowance 
of bran to each mess. New corn should be fed to horses 
with the greatest care, especially to young horses whose 
stomachs are as yet not fit to digest a full feed even of old 



86 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

corn. Indeed Indian corn should always be ground for 
horses, or at least fed on the cob, to prevent too rapid fill- 
ing of the stomach, thereby arresting digestion. Fermen- 
tation is thus set up, and flatulent colic and death may 
result. 

The great desideratum in the feeding of corn should be : 
1st. Have it ground, because it is more economical and 
safe. 2d. Mix with material haviog a much less nutritive 
principle to give bulk, at the same time having a cooling 
tendency, thereby neutralizing the stimulating effects of 
the corn. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

DIETETICS, HYGIENE, AND REGIMEN— ConYinKcrf. 

Barley — Eye — Carrots and Turnips — Grass — Pasture and Soiling 
— Timothy and Clover Hay — Bran — Cooking of Eood for Horses 
— Prindle's Steamer — Weight of Stable Eeed. 

Barley as food for horses has gained some repute since 
the failure of our oat crop, and is grown by farmers for the 
express purpose of feeding horses upon. In so far as those 
principles for fat-forming are concerned, it possesses a high 
degree of value, abounding in albumen, gluten, sugar, gum, 
and superphosphate of lime; or^ in other words, barley 
contains about sixty-five per cent, of nutritive matter, while 
oats weighing forty pounds to the bushel contain only 
about twenty-four pounds of nutritive material. 

Inferior barley in some parts of this country is fed 
instead of oats with the best effects. In forming a conclu- 
sion, horsemen would do well to remember that two parts 
of barley are more than equal to three of good oats. 

In some parts of Germany, barley is ground into flour 
8* (87) 



88 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

and made into cakes, whicli are fed to their horses. In 
Grreat Britain it is "usually boiled, and fed in the evening — 
fattening the horse, giving a glossy coat, and having an 
excellent effect in all respects. 

For a sick horse, we know of nothing that assists the 
effects of medicines and the efforts of nature in the cure 
of disease like a feed of boiled barley. As ah-eady stated, 
it forms the chief food of horses in the far West, where it 
is sold for eight cents the pound, and fed to horses on the 
Pacific Railroad at the rate of five pounds three times 
daily — because it is the most economical in every way. 
We very much doubt- whether the same amount of any 
other variety of food could maintain the condition and 
strength of those hard-worked horses like barley. In all 
our large cities, barley is never thought of in connection 
with the feeding of horses. The recuperating power of 
boiled or malted barley is truly surprising, and we think 
many a good and useful horse could have been saved to its 
owner by a few messes of such material. Let the boiled 
or malted barley take the place of the weak and deceptive 
bran-mash, which every horseman will persist in giving to 
the ^ick or tired horse ; little thinking of the non-strength- 
ening quality of such slops when the poor animal wants 
something more stimulating and strengthening. We do 
not anticipate that barley will become a general feed for 
the horse, at least, while corn is so plentiful and so cheap ; 
but we insist that barley shall have a place and its proper 
one in every stable in the country, if for no other purpose 



FEEDING. 89 

than that of an occasional change of food to the healthy, 
and a beverage to the sick and tired horse. 

Rye, although considered equal in point of nutrition to 
wheat, yet is not recommended for the feeding of horses, 
on account of its causing an acescent state of the stomach 
and diarrhoea. As green food, it is not only valuable as a 
soiling substance, but is a good fattening material to most 
animals, and is usually fed in the early part of the sum- 
mer, either by turning the horses into the field, or as is 
most common, cut in quantities and carried into the stable, 
which is the most economical mode. Rye, however, is 
scarcely known in the stable in any form, except as straw 
for litter or bedding, and for this purpose it is extensively 
and even extravagantly employed, costing more money than 
almost any one article of stable consumption. 

Carrots are cultivated in the United States by many 
persons as food for horses, as a substitute for oats. To 
horses of draught, or slow work, carrots may be fed in 
greater quantity than to those of the saddle or carriage 
The chief value of carrots as food for horses lies in the 
jpectic acid contained in them, which so much assists diges- 
tion and assimilation. Horses of slow work will thrive 
and do well when fed on six pounds of carrots and eight 
pounds of corn-meal in the day, with an allowance of hay. 

Our experience, however, has been, that a better condi- 
tion of horse has been attained with the same quantity of 
Swedish or yellow turnips, cut in slices and sprinkled with 
corn-meal — a feed we think that cannot be excelled either 



90 AMEEICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

in the coDditioning of horses or the economy of expendi- 
ture, and a better substitute for green food than the carrot, 
which we are sure is entirely overrated as food for horses. 
This is easily demonstrated in a few weeks' trial; the soft 
and glossy coat — the healthy look — the elastic step and 
good spirits of the animal so fed, will attest the superiority 
of the Swedish turnip. A trial of the feeding qualities of 
the yellow turnip will not only satisfy the experimenter of 
the truth of the high character here given of it, but will 
induce him to rely upon or at least give them a place 
among other articles of the feed of his horses. We have 
seen farm horses employed in hauling manure or plowing 
every day except Sunday during the winter and early 
spring, kept in excellent working condition, fed on turnips, 
hay and oat straw, twice in the day, or morning and night, 
and when the days grew longer and the work more severe, 
a few quarts of oats were given in the middle of the day. 
We have seen horses fed upon carrots, but never in one 
instance have seen a generous or a more healthy response 
on account of them. Now, if carrots be as good and 
healthy for horses as is asserted, a corresponding effect 
would be exhibited. Without this, no special advantage 
can truthfully be claimed for them beyond other feeding 
substances of less reputed value and of less cost. Medi- 
cine, like some speciality of feed, has its value from some 
inherent property it contains, and is recommended for a 
given purpose, but sometimes we are disappointed, when 
it has failed to accomplish the good expected. On the 



FEEDING. 91 

whole, we think that the good name given to carrots as a 
feed for the horse is in hooks only, and cannot be substan- 
tiated by the most careful experiments. We have only 
referred to this variety of feed for horses in view of its 
utility, and not because of its economy, on which considera- 
tion it will not compare favorably with many other articles 
of less money value, which are more easily procured, and 
as yet are not so well known to horsemen. 

To speak of the uncertainty of the carrot crop would be 
unnecessary, for this is already but too well known to 
require comment. But of the turnip, viewed from the 
same aspect, little need be said. When properly under- 
stood, it rarely disappoints the cultivator, and moreover, 
apart from all consideration as a feed for horses, it is the 
basis of English agriculture, and at no distant day will 
occupy the sanie position in the United States : — First, 
because it is one of the very best articles that can be 
fed to all (or nearly all) domestic animals ; and second, the 
manure from animals so fed is of the highest order. Thus 
we have a vegetable easy of cultivation and growth, which 
contains several properties, possesses several distinct cha- 
racteristics, and is used for many different purposes. A 
trial of the Swedish turnip, for a season, as a part of the 
horse's feed, will more than satisfy the inquiring mind of 
the importance of our recommendation. We have spent 
almost a lifetime in the study of some of the domestic 
animals, in health as well as when diseased, and in our pre- 



92 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. ' 

vious writings* we claim the credit, at least in some mea- 
sure, of producing a reform in many essentials relative to 
the treatment of the horse. This is our only excuse for 
laying a stricture upon constituted opinion and public 
belief in the value of the carrot as food for the horse. 

Grass, although the natural food of the horse in his 
wild condition, leaves little more to be desired ; yet, it is 
not sufficient to meet the demands of his nature in a state 
of domestication, or when work is demanded from him, and 
time is thus taken that is allowed in his natural state to 
gather food. Some kinds of grass contain more nutriment 
than others; but more, we think, depends upon the quality 
of the soil upon which it is grown, and whether it is too 
young or too old, or has ripened and its seed blown away. 
If a horse is to be allowed grass merely for the good that 
is "Expected from it, and not for any other consideration, 
the better way will be to soil the horse, that is, by daily 
cutting and bringing in the grass to the stable; but if the 
feet of the horse need repairing or growing down, then 
select for the pasture, level and somewhat moist land. 
We have spoken of diseased or bad feet being benefited by 
soft pasture, because no disease of the legs or shoulders 
will be benefited by a run at pasture, as the liberty thus 
given to the horse, in his frolics and search after food, 



* "Diseases in the American Stable, Field and Earm-yard," 
by the Editor of " The Horse in the Stable and the Field." Por- 
ter & Coates, Philadelphia. 



FEEDING. 93 

often renew old sprains of the legs and shoulders, thus 
rendering them incurable — the horse coming home to the 
stable worse than when put in the pasture. 

In our experience of many years in the pasturing of horses, 
we cannot recall to memory a single instance of the return 
of a city or stall-fed horse, in anything like the good condi- 
tion it had when taken from the stable. Some of the more 
spirited were lame, more badly blemished about the body 
or legs, others glandered from contagion. Some had 
been used without authority in the work of an avaricious 
farmer ; the shoulders and back being galled by the use of 
badly-fitting harness, giving evidence of a hard task-master 
or a cruel owner. Some horses were drowned in ditches, 
others had legs broken and had to be destroyed, and many 
good animals were stolen and never recovered. With all 
these drawbacks against pasturage for horses in the spring 
of each and every year, we cannot deny that the young 
and early grass is the very best of both food and medicine 
to the trained and domesticated horse of all our large cities. 
But how is this to be allowed in the face of all risks to life, 
limb, and the change of hands without permission or an 
equivalent ? Seek out an honest farmer, with ample accom- 
modations, fields well watered, good fences, ground not too 
high and dry, and where no other horses are taken to pas- 
ture, a good distance from a city or large town, and not 
convenient to the public highway. These precautions are 
necessary to safety from abuse, accidents from kicks from 
other horses; and the distance from cities, &c., together 



94 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

with inconvenience to the highway, will, in a great degree, 
lessen the dangers from the horse thief. 

When good accommodations cannot be readily procured, 
let the milkman be engaged to bring a bundle of fresh-cut 
grass every morning in his wagon, for from two to three 
weeks, which will be long enough to answer every good 
purpose that grass can accomplish. When this is adopted, 
it is but following in the wake of London and New York 
in this particular, where fresh grass is sold by the bundle 
every morning. By this procedure, all the grass that is 
wanted can be fed to the valuable horse, without running 
any risk whatever, by a season out at pasture. By the 
gradual and progressive change produced by a few weeks 
soiling in this way, the horse will not only renew his spirits, 
but like the eagle, it will renew his youth, and be the 
means of prolonging his days of usefulness. 

In giving grass to horses, when in the stable, feed spar- 
ingly at first, or till the evidence is shown in the dung-pit, 
by the green color. This precaution will prevent an attack 
of colic, and perhaps the loss of life which sometimes occurs 
after a belly-full of grass, particularly when wet. In turn- 
ing a horse out to grass, let him be a little tired, so that he 
will not be so much disposed to gallop and hurt himself, 
and place him on a bare pasture for the first two days, to 
prevent engorgement of the stomach and the production of 
colic. These precautions being fully attended to, the horse 
may be placed on pasture with a reasonable expectation of 
seeing him again, and in as good condition as when he 



FEEDING. , 95 

went out of the stable. If the pasture be high, dry, and 
hard, then plate-shoes will be required to protect the walls 
of the fore feet; no heels nor toes should be allowed, as 
they stick in the ground, tear off the shoes, and break the 
hoof. 

Our remarks in this connection have been entirely con- 
fined to city horses of all works ; but for the horse of the 
agriculturist, it will be found much more profitable to have 
the horses soiled by cutting and carting the grass in to the 
animals, either in stable or farm-yard. This plan will obvi- 
ate the necessity of superior fencing. No grass is spoiled 
by the animals treading upon it in the field, and covering 
much of it with their excrement. The extra quantity and 
quality of the manure thus saved, will balance the extra 
labor of cutting the grass, &c. Old horses, and those stiff 
from hard work, should not be put out to pasture, especi- 
ally where the land is level, as it is very difficult for such 
animals to gather the food from the ground. Such animals 
will not thrive well at pasture, but will do better when 
grass is fed to them in the manger. 

In pasturing city or stable-fed horses, the newly-found 
liberty, together with the difference of the food, will for a 
week or two improve their condition, and they will appear 
perfectly satisfied; but subsequently they lose flesh, and 
become dissatisfied, even though wading to the knees in 
the finest of grass ; they long for the stable, to be tied by 
the head and associate with man. In the summer season, 
horses should be kept during the hottest parts of the day in 
9 



96 AMERICA:^ STABLE GUIDE. 

the stable or a slied, to protect them from the sun and flies; 
they can be turned out late in the afternoon or evening 
for the night, and brought to the shelter by 9 or 10 o'clock 
next morning. Horses on late or second crop-grass and 
clover of the season will not thrive well, as the cool nights 
acidulate the juices and cause slobbering (salivation) 
from the mouth and salivary glands ; this is a loss to the 
stomach in digestion and assimilation. 

Timothy hay, we believe, for the last forty years has 
been in extensive use for feeding city horses, and by com- 
mon consent it is considered to be the best of all the dried 
grasses. So firmly fixed is this opinion of horsemen on 
the subject, that it would be a matter of supererogation, 
were we to attempt to convince them otherwise. Cats-tail 
or timothy grass — Phleum pratense, is the great American 
grass, and is called Timothy from a Mr. Timothy Hanson, 
who was the first to introduce it, and no doubt it is one 
of the most valuable grasses of the country. There are 
several varieties of timothy which we will not describe, 
but suffice to say, that the timothy of Pennsylvania is the 
Herd's gi^ass of New England, and the Ked-Top of the 
Middle States, a variety which the farmers of Pennsylvania 
will not grow; they reject all seeds containing Herd's grass. 
The value of timothy hay depends a great deal upon its 
quality, not only in its being well and properly cured, but 
upon the soil upon which it has been grown. Timothy 
g«ass requires for its full and perfect growth a heavy clay 
soil ; without this the product will be poor, both in quality 



FEEDING. 97 

and quantity. It exhausts the land, and after a year or 
two kills every other grass that may have been sown with 
it. So exhausting to the soil and so selfish is it in its 
growth, that were it not for the great demand for it in all 
large cities for the exclusive use of horses, in a short time 
not a blade of it would be grown. Farmers who are in 
the habit of selling hay from their farms for spending 
money, are not the persons to give up the growing of that 
which is in demand at so good a price, even though the 
land should suffer. 

Timothy hay is, in our estimation, not only over-estimated 
by stablemen, but more costly by twenty to thirty per cent, 
than other varieties of hay equally nutritious and more 
healthy for horses that do not work more than one day in 
seven. 

Timothy hay should be cut before the seeds are ripe, for 
in them lies much of the value as hay. Timothy without 
the seeds is the poorest of feed. The stalk should be of a 
greenish hue (not dry, hard, brittle, brown), and of a good 
sound sweet smell, free from dust, and all the better if 
mixed with clover. This latter consideration is good evi- 
dence that the land upon which it was grown was not so 
far exhausted that the clover had died out from among the 
timothy, and that the land had not been burdened by a 
continued, or from -year-to-year crop of timothy. 

The quantity of timothy fed to horses varies with the 
size, age, work, and make of the animal. Horses of slow 
work, and employed ten to twelve hours per day, will eat 



98 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

sixteen to twenty pounds, of which a portion should be cut 
and mixed with the evening meal, thus allowing the tired 
horse to lie down sooner than he would were he to prepare 
so much hay for himself. Large carriage-horses may be 
fed twelve to sixteen pounds ; smaller, driving, and saddle- 
horses will require less, and the hay should be fed exclu- 
sively to them at night. The quantity thus named is 
merely proximate, for if the oats and other feed be of good 
quality, perhaps a little less hay will be required, and vice 
versa. But when the hay is not good, do not give it in 
greater quantity, but increase the quantity of oats and 
corn. 

In this connection it may be well to state that the size 
of the belly is the index to some persons as to the quantity 
of hay required. This indication, however, is not a good 
criterion, because pony-built horses, or those that are well 
ribbed home, may become diseased from not having feed 
in sufficient hulk^ and yet present a full belly. And, fur- 
thermore, a fleet and free horse, light-bellied, and not well- 
ribbed home at the flanks, will not show a full belly, 
though fed with all the hay that he will eat. The safe 
criterion in such matters is to give to the horse of slow 
work all that nature demands, and to those of faster work, 
all feed of bulk at nights, or after the daily drive or ride 
is over. (See how Dexter is fed, ante, p. 70). 

The daily requirements of a horse weighing 938 pounds 
is, 22 pounds of hay, 4J pounds of oats, and QQ pounds of 
water j and that of a milch cow amounts to one-thirtieth of 



FEEDING. 99 

the corporeal weight ia liay, and two-fifteenths in water, or 
one-sixth iia both together. 

Clover Hay. — In Philadelphia, this variety of hay is 
commonly known hy the name of " Cow''^ hay, illustrating 
the contempt the stablemen entertain for this excellent 
variety of feed, in their judgment being only fit for the less 
noble but nevertheless queenly cow, and as if utterly unfit 
for the more noble and sagacious horse to feed or even look 
upon. This is better illustrated by the craving of the dys- 
peptic and the sick for the plain and not over-substantial 
but healthy dinner of the poor. 

It is at all times questionable policy to constantly persist 
in feeding with material that costs more, but predisposes to 
disease, especially of the liver. A healthy liver is rarely 
found in a city-stabled horse of a few years, which has been 
fed upon the usual feed, consisting of oats, corn, corn-meal, 
some bran, ship-stuflP, and the common allowance of timothy 
hay. 

The city carriage-horse and saddle-cob, with an easy life, 
are not unlike some of their owners — possessors of a for- 
tune, together with a degree of hepatitis that, by a little 
consideration, could have been avoided. In like manner, 
the same difficulty can be prevented in the horse by the 
opening and cooling properties of a bundle of sound clover 
(cow) hay, so seldom seen in the stable of the gentleman 
of the city, and which is so unjustly despised as a feed for 
the horse 

The principal objections raised against clover hay are, 



100 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

the dust and the liability to give rise to heaves and broken 
wind in the horse so fed. To this we say, from ample 
experience, we do not deny but that horses fed upon 
clover hay in the manner that hay is given, will occasionally 
have thickening of the wind ; but it must be remembered 
that many horses fed upon timothy become similarly dis- 
eased. This being the case, it cannot be wholly ascribed 
to the quality or kind of hay that is used. We may easily 
account for this being more frequent in the horse fed with 
clover hay than one fed with timothy, when we consider the 
quantity of clover horses will consume in comparison with 
that of any other variety of hay fed to animals of ail work. 
It is the quantity and not the quality that gives rise to this 
complaint against clover hay. Are all the cases of thick 
and broken wind encountered in the city, caused by a hay 
that they never saw or fed upon ? The abuse of a feed 
cannot stand as an argument against its usefulness, for if 
this be the case, is there anything perfectly harmless when 
overdone or misapplied ? We will not enter at length into 
the inquiry as to the cause of broken wind, our object 
being merely to show that anything, either food or water, 
given in bulk at a time when the ride or the drive 
may shortly after be exacted from a full-bellied horse, 
will prove injurious. The question may be satisfactorily 
settled by a glance at the ravenous-feeding and pot-bellied 
horse as the victim of heaves. Who ever saw a thin, fleet, 
free, light, and spare-feeding horse affected with broken 
wind, feed him as you will ? 



FEEDING. 101 

Before the advent of steam as a means of reaching dis- 
tant points, when horses were the engine, and. at a time 
when clover hay was fed to horses as it is at the present 
time in the rural or country districts, and when timothy 
hay was unknown and not cultivated, we have concurrent 
testimony to show that broken wind in the horse was not 
so frequent as it now is, nor were diseases among horses so 
prevalent. ' 

Those who are disposed to give this kind of hay a fair 
trial as a feed to their horses, should measure or weigh 
the hay as you would the oats or corn, and give it at stated 
periods of time, chiefly at night, when the ride or drive 
for the day is over; and as before stated, allow no hay of 
any kind, especially to driving or saddle horses, during the 
daytime. By this course little anxiety may be felt as to 
causing broken wind. Clover hay is a medicine to the 
sick or tired horse, and he will eat of it when he will touch 
nothing else. It is equal to fresh-cut grass for changing 
both the excretions and secretions of horses, thereby 
removing bad smells from the stable and the body of the 
animal. The straw-colored dung indicates an unhealthy 
condition of horse, but it is at once made healthy and 
darkened to a brown or good color by clover hay. Being 
less in price and less quantity being required to be fed, it 
also obviates the necessity for the bi-weekly or tri-weekly 
bran-mash usually fed to the horse. 

To those who may have doubts of the value of clover 
hay, and regard it as liable to give rise to diseased wind, 



102 



AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 



we would say, do not occasionally deny a bundle of good 
clover hay, if it be but for a relisb and a cbange to your 
horses, even though other kinds of hay be used as regular 
feed. To avoid the dust from clover hay, it is advisable 
to feed it from the manger and not from the rack over the 
head of the horse. 

There are, like timothy and other grasses, several kinds 
of clover, although the red clover ( Trifolium pratense) is 




' Telegraph" Hay and Straw Cutter. 



generally meant, and not the marl or cow-grass (^Tri- 
folium medium), which latter name, independent perhaps 
of any other consideration, may be the origin of the 
appellation of " cow-hay," as applied to clover by the sta- 
blemen of Philadelphia. The second year's crop or cut of 
clover is perhaps, when all circumstances are regarded, the 
best hay for horses of all kinds and of all work, as at this 
time about one-third will be composed of timothy, making 



FEEDING. 103 

a valuable mixture, more healthy and not open to the 
objection of the first year's cut, which has little timothy 
in it. The great value of clover, as well as other varieties 
of hay depends upon the time of cutting, and the manner 
in which it has been prepared for the barn or stack. 

Bran is the skin or husk of grain, especially of wheat, 
when ground and separated by the bolter or sieve. When 
fed to animals, it is laxative, and for this purpose it is fed 
to horses at stated times as a mash. This is a custom in- 
troduced into the American stable from Europe, and which 
we and our horses can do very well without, as the injury 
we have seen done by feeding bran to horses that positively 
required a more substantial feed is very great. The theory 
that introduces bran into the horse stable, is as pernicious 
in its effects as the indiscriminate use of bran itself, at the 
whim of the stablemen. This theory is, that every sick 
or tired horse must be fed upon bran-mashes. 

Horsemen have not yet learned that most diseases of the 
horse are characterized by a weak or typhoid condition, 
and not by inflammatory action. Hence, it is injurious to 
the horse to have his bowels loosened or blood drawn, as 
he requires tonics and stimulants, with sound and substan- 
tial food. Unlock the bowels of a horse laboring under 
inflammatory disease even, and they will not stop till death 
puts an end to his suff"erings. Feed a healthy grain-fed 
horse for from two to four days upon hay and bran, and 
the animal will swell either on the breast, along the belly, 
sheath or all four legs ; and sometimes all can be seen swol- 



104 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

len, from the debilitating and innutritions substance called 
bran; and yet it is expected and believed, thougli- never 
seen, that bran-mashes will prevent disease and cure the 
sick, and that it is in every wav adapted to the horse, sick 
or well. 

The analysis and microscopical examinations of bran now 
lies before me, made by men the world is pleased to call 
scientific and competent; and yet we are, after twenty years' 
-well-seasoned experience in the feeding of horses-, compelled 
to say that if what is said by them of the nutritiousness of 
bran be true, it is then in such combination as to render 
it unfit for food to the horse, sick or well, idle or at work, 
and he will soon sink from exhaustion if bran enters largely 
into his daily allowance of food. A little bran, with other 
and more substantial articles, may be occasionally given, 
but not in sufficient quantity to loosen the bowels, nor be 
counted to the horse as equal to so much other solid food, 
for in doing so you deceive yourself and cheat the horse. 
Other varieties of mill-feed might be mentioned in this 
connection, but our space is limited. 

The Egyptian and horse-bean, the pea or vetch, Alsike 
clover, rye-grass, salt, flaxseed, &c., &c., in some parts of 
the world enter largely into the feed of horses, and are 
no doubt very good, but many of them have not yet 
received that attention from our agriculturists that they 
deserve. We will now close this already too long chapter on 
the various articles of horse feed that are produced, sold 
and used in our stables. In concluding, we will simply 



FEEDING. 105 

state, that partially cooking the food will be found of great 
advantage, especially to the draught and slow- worked horse ; 
much will be thereby saved to the pocket of the owner, and 
it is a practice highly to be commended. For this purpose, 
no better apparatus can be found than one of Prindle's 
steamers, which can be used not only with safety but 
economy for every purpose about a stable for which a stove 
is used. One of the smallest size will not only generate 
steam which can be conveyed through pipes to any part of 
the stable for heating purposes, but to the coach, harness 
or sleeping rooms, and with a properly closed box-stall, a 
Turkish bath can be heated perfectly by one of these 
steamers. No stable should be without one. 



WEIGHT PER BUSHEL OF ARTICLES OF HORSE FEED. 

Barley . 47 pounds. 

Corn .... . . 58 

Coarse salt ...... 85 

Ground salt . . . . . .70 

Fine salt 62 

Oats 32 «' 

Eye . . 58 " 

Flaxseed 51 



106 



AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 




The above cut represents one of Prindle's Agricultural 
Steam Boilers. It can be used for cooking food for stock, 
heating water for any purpose, and by connection with iron 
pipe it will heat and dry the carriage-house, harness-room, 
grapery, green-house or conservatory, even though a long 
distance from it. Thus we have a heater, kettle, steam 
boiler, portable furnace or stove, with safety valve, insuring 
against explosion or collapse. 



FEEDma. 



107 




The above cut represents the Prindle Steamer as an 
open cauldron and furnace, or portable stove. In this con- 
dition it may be used for boiling purposes with water 
without steam attachments. 



10 



CHAPTEE y 



STABLE WORK. 



Cleansing and Airing the Stable — Straightening the Blankets — 
Waterbrushing the Quarters— Feeding and Watering — Dressing 
or Grooming — Shaking down the Beds and Tidying the Stable — 
Exercise— Blanketing — Bandages— Tying — Care of the Feet — 
Treatment after "Work — Bedding — Rye Straw — Sawdust — Forest 
Leaves — Oat Straw — Salt, Marsh, and Meadow or Natural Hay 
— Tan-bark — Stable Vices — Kicking — Biting — Shying — Rolling 
— Cribbing — Breaking Loose — Tearing the Blankets — Vicious 
to clean. 

It is of the utmost importance where animals are con- 
fined, tied by the head, and dependent upon man for what 
they eat, drink, and, we had almost said, the air they 
breathe, as well as for other matters upon which good 
health and condition depend, that good ventilation be 
insured, and the greatest regularity enforced as to the open- 
ing of the stable in the morning and freeing it from the ac- 
cumulation of cavbonic and ammoniacal gases ; also in feed- 
ing and watering the horses, cleaning the stable, squaring 
the blankets, and brushing the dirty quarters or hips. 

(108) 



CLEANING AND AIRING THE STABLE. 109 

The free ventilation relieves the eyes and breathing 
apparatus, and the blood from morphological change. The 
regularity of feeding and watering at certain or stated 
times favors and promotes the functions of digestion, and 
in a great measure prevents windy or flatulent colic, which 
can often be traced to irregularity of feeding and length of 
time between the hours chosen for such purposes. In sup- 
port of the latter distinction, as a cause of colic, we have 
but to refer to the period before the advent of railroads, 
and when it was but too common to feed horses twice daily, 
morning and night. The hunger being excessive, the ani- 
mal would eat too much and too fast, paralyzing the func- 
tions of the stomach ; fermentation and the evolution of 
carbonic acid gas took place, causing colic, often ending 
fatally. The horse would be found dead in the morning in 
his stall, without any assignable cause. This could have 
been averted by giving a smaller feed, or better by allow- 
ing the hungry horse to eat hay, straw, or some other 
rough or bulky material, for one or two hours, so as 
to partly fill the stomach, and in a slow manner, before 
the more nutritious and concentrated corn or oats were 
given. 

For horses that through the force of circumstances, can- 
not be fed at regular intervals, and at short periods, be 
particular to allow hay for at least one hour before the 
more solid feed is given. To insure regularity, as far 
as possible at least, on the part of the groom, he must be 
3. sober person and not given to debauch during the night, 



110 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

that his attendance at a regular hour in the morning at 
the stable be not interfered with — " no man can serve two 
masters/' On going into the stable in the morning, a per- 
sonal inspection of each horse should be made to ascertain 
if the foot is over the halter, or the eyes have suffered an 
injury, or whether there be a shoe loose, &c. Next, see 
that the means for ventilation are open and free from 
obstruction, and thus the mercury will be reduced from 
5° to 10°; and if possible keep it steady. The covers, 
sheets or blankets should at this time be straightened on 
the body of the horse^ always taking care, especially in 
cold weather, to throw them well toward the withers, so 
that they can be pulled toward the hind quarters or the 
way the hair or coat lies, so that it can be kept smooth and 
unbroken. 

The Water-brush should now be brought, with a little 
tepid water and soap to brush and cleanse the quarters or 
hips and thighs of each horse, that have been roughed and 
stained during the night when lying. This is especially 
required with white and gray horses to keep them clean, 
always bmshing and drying the parts downwards with the 
hair. Dirty or roughened quarters on the carriage, saddle, 
or driving horse are utterly inexcusable on the part of the 
groom, and should never be allowed in summer time; but 
in cold weather and when the horse is out early, the parts 
may not be yet dry — less can be said when the parts are not 
altogether pleasing. The same rules may be exacted when 
a fine horse has a white hind foot and part of the leg, with 



FEEDING AND WATERING. Ill 

this difference, a soft woollen bandage can be wrapped 
loosely around it, by whicb it will in a very short time be 
completely dry by heat and evaporation. These few, but 
necessary preparations need not consume many minutes of 
time, but will add to the health of the horse, facilitate the 
operation of grooming, and insure a smooth coat of hair on 
all parts of the body. A portion of the food, water, or per- 
haps the whole allowance of either, may now be given to 
each horse. Some grooms prefer to give the water before 
the oats or feed, others give the feed and follow with the 
water, when the feed is eaten. Still, others feed and water 
in half quantities at a time — two waterings and two feeds 
in the morning, in the manner the celebrated horse Dexter 
is fed (page 70). Whether water or corn be first fed to 
the horse in the morning is like some other questions in 
the care of horses, which can only be satisfactorily answered 
by stating that when horses, their nature, health, and work 
are all alike, then, and then only can treatment of them 
be fairly fixed. 

Horses of slow work that are not over-excited and warm 
when they arrive at the stable in the evening, can have as 
much water given to them as is necessary without injury; 
such animals can be fed or watered in the order the groom 
may choose, but horses for light harness or the saddle, and 
that perform their work in from two to four hours out of 
the twenty-four, and arrive at the stable very warm, and 
sometimes at a late hour in the night, cannot with safety 
be allowed much cold water to drink, and tepid water will 
10"- 



112 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

not satisfactorily allay the cravings of a thirsty and tired 
animal. Horses placed under such circumstances, very 
often teach the groom that the bucket of cold water is 
preferable to the measure of corn, by the refusal to eat 
till water be first given. There are again some horses 
of all work that are so healthy and hearty that they 
will not drink till after the allowance of feed has been 
eaten, and on this account are often unjustly dealt with 
through indifference or ignorance of the groom in not 
watering after the morning meal has been consumed. 

While the horses are feeding, the bedding may be shaken 
up, the good separated from the dirty, and the stalls as 
well as the floor swept clean. The stable drains and stench- 
trap, especially in warm weather, should be washed with a 
broom and water; in winter by keeping the drains clear 
of straw and dung, washing is not so often necessary nor 
desirable. The stableman may now eat breakfast with as 
little disturbance as the horse. This is important — for 
Punch intimates that when a gentleman wants a thing 
done, the best way is for him to do it himself; which is 
illustrated by the gentleman exercising the horses whilst 
the grooms are enjoying their beef and beer, for upon their 
enjoyment depends their good nature for the rest of the 
day. Without over-indulgence, however, the stableman 
may at this time leave the stable, as the custom is not to 
groom a horse in his stall, especially when feeding; and it 
is not advisable ; besides it would be attended with danger 
to the groom from a spirited horse. Moreover, time is 



DRESSING OR GROOMING. 113 

allowed for the white leg and washed quarters to become 
dry before an attempt is made to groom them. On the 
return from breakfast, dressing or grooming may be com- 
menced. 

The thorough-bred groom or stableman may not be 
taught much from us, as to the utility and manner of 
grooming horses ; but unfortunately all persons employed 
in our stables, public and private, are not proficient, nor 
are they of the most intelligent of our citizens even in 
regard to this their calling, which most have adopted not 
from choice, but necessity. The owners of horses and 
employers of stablemen with us are mostly business men, or 
merchants, who have little or no time or thought to give 
to the stable and its management, and moreover as a whole 
are not well " posted" as to stable requirements or necessi- 
ties, and are often imposed upon because of their want of 
knowledge. These we now address, when discussing how 
and when the afikirs of their stables should be attended to, 
together with the effects upon horses, harness, &c., of such 
care as is bestowed upon them. 

Grooming may be properly defined the cleaning and 
dressing of the external form or outer skin of the horse, 
but by lexicographers it includes feeding also. Of this, 
however, we have already spoken, and therefore will only 
allude to " cleaning^' a horse, which is performed in as 
many different ways as there are different degrees in its 
perfection, and final effects or results upon the horse. The 
full or grand result of a perfect system of grooming horses 



114 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

can only be seen in animals of a high standard of health, 
and which cannot in all cases be gained by a perfect plan 
of grooming alone, but by other considerations, as good 
feeding, stabling, &c. In addition, nor will those latter in 
their utmost perfection, attain so desirable an end without 
the careful performance of the former. Although separate 
and distinct in their application to the horse, they are 
inseparable from a healthful development. 

The implements or appliances that are necessary and 
used in the private stable of the gentleman, are more in 
number but not less in eifect than those found in stables 
of less pretensions. They consist of the curry-comb, 
familiar to everybody, made of iron, with saw-teethed bars, 
of much use on the hair of heavy draught horses in winter, 
but of very doubtful applicability in summer on the fine 
and thin hair of all horses, particularly of fine bred 
animals. For the heavy horse, the curry-comb is the 
first implement brought into use in the act of groomiog, 
and is used to ruffle and tease the hair to remove dust and 
dandruff from the skin. This use of the curry-comb, we 
have for many years opposed, because in cold and frosty 
seasons, the more closely the hair lies to the skin, the 
warmer and more comfortable will the animal be ; there- 
fore, the curry-comb if used at all, should be drawn the 
way the hair lies and not against it. The most important 
use to which the curry-comb can be applied, is to remove 
the dust from the broad bristle or body-brush, by drawing 
the face of the brush against the teeth of the comb. 



DRESSING OR GROOMING. 115 

This brush is perhaps the most useful and indispensable 
of grooming implements, but, like the iron comb, is liable 
to abuse, by using it against the lay of the hair on well- 
bred animals in cold weather. It should be used as little 
as possible in winter. For the body in cold weather, the 
hay (meadow or natural) wjsp, which is soft, should alone 
be used, and is made as follows : make a thick but soft 
hay rope, cast it into a knot, and flatten against a smooth 
wall or post, after which the flattened face of it should be 
slightly moistened with water to soften the wisp still more. 
There is no cloth or other wisp equal to this for the fine- 
ekinned animal. It not only removes dust, but soothes the 
skin, smooths the hair, and gives the coat a healthy 
appearance. It is more satisfactory to the horse, and 
should be almost exclusively used for summer grooming 
of all horses, especially for the thorough -bred animal. 
Where the curry-comb and brush are used, the wisp should 
be employed to complete the task before putting on the 
blanket. 

In winter, horses of fine breed should be groomed in a 
place not colder than the temperature of the stable, and if 
no such place be convenient, do it in the stable, and after 
the grooming clean with a brush or feather duster, all the 
fixtures and furniture. 

The dan drufi"-b rush (called " dandy-brush"), made of 
stiff, yellow, woody fibre, can now be used to dress the 
forelock, mane, and tail. This is considered not so liable 
to tear the hair out, like the old bone comb, which many 



116 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

still use. The dandy-brush is an excellent and almost 
indispensable article of the stable, and is used with advan- 
tage and effect on the body and legs of horses that come 
in warm, for straightening the hair, and removing dandruff 
and other foreign matter. 

The moist sponge should now be used to wipe the eyes, 
nose, &c. The hoofs may also be attended to in like man- 
ner, and, if time and taste will admit, some hoof ointment, 
colored to match the hoofs, can be applied to them with 
advantage. For this purpose, the "resin ointment" of 
the drug-stores will do, or equal portions of the oil of tar, 
whale or sweet oil, colored as above. 

The beds should now be shaken, but thinly, over the 
stalls, and a little out on the floor of the stable j the 
" plate" laid down, or the " roll" be made, to give a tidy 
and tasty appearance to the stable. To carry this taste a 
little further, a four-inch fold of the blanket or sheet may 
be turned upon itself on the quarters of the horse, and the 
part thus made bare, or a portion of it, changed in shade 
by four scores with a clean brush, leaving a square or dia- 
mond in the centre, as the taste may be, of a different 
shade or lay of hair, which is very pleasing in effect and 
shows good grooming and taste. If the horses have been 
on a journey the previous day and are fatigued, a good bed 
should be allowed, so that the horse can lie down. We 
have never seen horses injured by resting too much, but on 
the contrary, by too much standing, thus wearing out both 
feet and legs. That the legs may wear well with the body, 



TIDYING THE STABLE. 117 

let the head down, darken the stable, and give good bedding 
to the stall : thus the legs and feet of many an excellent 
horse will be made comfortable, and wear many years 
longer than by a different and inconsiderate treatment. 
The latter consideration is more applicable to the driving, 
carriage, and saddle horses, but not at all inapplicable to 
horses of all work, when a day is allowed them in the 
stable. 

The recommendations in this chapter are more particu- 
larly designed for the benefit of city horses, but we do not 
know of any class of horsemen or owners, if it be not, first, 
the farmer, and second, some of the livery stablemen of 
Philadelphia, and other large cities and towns, that can be 
benefited so much by following our instructions, at least so 
far as cleanline-ss and taste are concerned ; for it is not an 
unusual habit for farmers to have their horses standing in 
filth and dirt up to their knees months at a time — a stereo- 
typed habit, which should be abandoned as not fit for the 
healthful treatment even of the pig. This carelessness in 
the stable of the farmer cannot be accounted for upon any 
other hypothesis than the force of habit, a lazy disposition, 
and complete ignorance of the laws that govern animal life 
and the nature of the horse. Besides, it shows the want 
of capacity to manage the ordinary affairs which pertain to 
the everyday duty of the farm and the stable. Farmers 
and others who allow this state of afi'airs in the stable, must 
be taught to expect in the spring epizootic disease of some 
kind — lung fever, typhoid influenza, sore eyes, swelled 



118 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

legs, scratches, thrusbj feet, &c., &c. — as the result of such 
a pernicious system. 

The cleansing of the stable should in every case be 
among the first acts of each and every morning, and where 
good arrangements are made, no loss of time or inconveni- 
ence will be experienced by so necessary an arrangement. 
Other little , niceties that are tasteful and timely in the 
private stable of the merchant-prince may not be enforced 
in the stable of the agriculturist or in the ordinary livery 
stable ; but cleanliness and good ventilation are necessary 
in every stable, and in the country, where there is space 
enough, the cleanings from the stable should be removed 
some distance from the doors and windows, by means of a 
wheelbarrow. Any person who values the life and good 
health of his horse, should absolutely refuse to stable where 
the manure is deposited in the building with horses, har- 
ness, and carriages, as seen in many livery establishments. 
The ammonia evolved in the closed stable during the night 
is injurious enough to the health of horses and the paint of 
carriages, without their being subjected night and day to 
this noisome odor. The injurious effects of ammonia from 
stable manure may be correctly judged of by a visit to 
some lead-paint manufactory ; its action speaks louder to the 
understanding of man than mere words. In closing this 
not-over-nice subject, we hope the farmers and some others 
will learn that cleanliness in the stable is of high consi- 
deration, independently of its superior economy. 

Exercise, in the phrase of the stable, is intended as a 



EXERCISE. 119 

substitute for work to horses that are not regularly 
employed, and is often a very convenient plan by which 
the groom " shows off^' to his brothers of like occupation, 
the condition of his horses, the easy time and place he has, 
as evinced by the apparent, if not, real necessity of exer- 
cising the idle horses. To the sober and industrious groom 
or coachman, who avoids associates at the tavern, the hour 
of exercise is time spent with much pleasure and to many 
with profit, by the comparison of the condition of other 
horses with those of which he has the care. Further, it 
is often a pleasure to the owners to know and see his horses 
at exercise, looking as well if not better than others. 

The increasing wealth and prosperity of many of our citi- 
zens, entitle them to articles contributing to ease and 
luxury, some of which cannot be always in use, but it is 
necessary they should be kept in a condition that fits them 
for service when required; hence the introduction into the 
stable of the word exercise. There are several ways taken 
to exercise horses, the most common being with the sad- 
dle — horseback — and if there be a pair, one is led by the 
side of the other. The " led" horse, for safety to himself, 
should have a bridle on, and a surcingle or belly-band 
around the body, to which is attached an ordinary bearing 
rein, but not too tight, sufficient to employ the animal's 
attention from other horses or objects, so that there will be 
no rearing up, kicking or being kicked or sprained, as 
would sometimes be the case if left without some other 
restraint than the simple halter and "shank" by which 
11 



120 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

he is being led, by a person on tbe back of another horse. 
From want of sufficient work, with good feeding, feeling 
spirited, he is full of fun or play, that sometimes ends 
injuriously. 

Our experience has taught that with high-conditioned 
horses, no plan for their exercise is so effectual and safe 
as when performed in the manner of their usual work, 
which can only be objected to on account of the wear and 
tear of the harness and carriage, together with the extra 
labor of the grooms in washing and cleaning. The former 
objection can, in a measure be obviated by using an inferior 
carriage with coarse, but strong harness, and the latter by 
less labor being necessary to keep such articles in order 
than those of greater value. In some parts of Europe the 
" break'' or van is used for such a purpose For saddle 
horses, the saddle and bridle should only be used, but may 
be of less value than those required for regular work. 
In England especially, it is the custom in frosty weather 
and where theref are slippery roads or streets, to give doses 
of physic (a purge), as a substitute for work or exercise. 
We mention this, not for its adoption, but that it should 
be avoided under all circumstances. 

Old horses require but little exercise, although capable, 
without fatigue or injury to themselves, of doing a greater 
amount of work than younger ones. The young animal 
is not capable of enduring much work without fatigue and 
injury, but requires to be out of the stable daily, even 
though not much exercised. Young horses are stabled too 



EXERCISE. 121 

much for their health, yet are incapable of standing much 
work or exercise without giving rise to splints, sprains, &c. 
When exercise is necessary for the young horse it should 
be confined to a walk, and in double the time that is allowed 
to the older animal. It is the want of this physiological 
knowledge on the part of those who profess to be adepts in 
the art (I had almost said science) of training horses for 
the race course and turf, that destroys so many excellent 
and promising young horses, when placed under their 
charge. Indeed, so much is this the case, that it is but 
few that stand the unjust and cruel treatment in the daily 
exercise that is exacted from them. While, if a year or 
two older, or at least with a more judicious system in force, 
many that are injured, would be more likely to show them- 
selves animals of speed and value, -instead of worn out, 
crippled,- broken in spirit, diseased in the bones of the 
joints, with spavin, ringbone, and other osseous deposits, 
before the animal had begun its career of usefulness and 
profit. 

The subject of training we will leave where it is, in the 
hands of those, who through ignorance of the animal and 
its power of endurance under adverse circumstances, have 
done more to hinder and close the door to a more perfect 
system of breeding horses, than even the present system 
of racing. We hope a good and beneficent government 
will speedily recognise the evil and apply the remedy. 

Blanketing horses is a matter of much importance, for 
upon a proper use of the blanket its principal value de- 



122 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

pends, though neither the value of the blanket nor the 
principle upon which they act is fully understood by the 
best of grooms or horsemen, outside of the fact that blan- 
kets will keep the horse warm. 

Blankets are a necessary article of stable appliance, at 
least where a high condition of horse is necessary. With- 
out a certain degree of heat in cold weather, horses could 
not be easily kept in flesh and condition. This heat is in 
part supplied by the application of blankets to the body 
and in part from the feed. The colder the animal is kept 
the greater the amount of feed required to supply caloric. 
The blanket not only prevents the evaporation of heat from 
the body of the horse, but at the same time forms a barrier 
between the pores of the skin of the animal and the cold 
air. Blanketing should be just sufficiently heavy or light 
to insure comfort^ by allowing insensihle transpiration ^ but 
not so heavy as to produce sweating or sensible transpira- 
tion. It should never interfere with a free exhalation from 
the surface of the skin, which is eminently necessary to 
health. 

Blankets of coarse wool should only be used, and not be 
lined with anything other than woollen material, if lined at 
all. To blanket with water proof or rubber cloth while the 
horse is in the stable, without harness or saddle on his 
back to elevate the covering from immediate contact with 
the skin, would be injurious, because it would in great 
measure prevent the natural transpiration. The same 
objection may be applied to the buffalo and other robes 




HOW TO PREVENT HORSES FROM TEARIx\G THEIR CLOTHING. 



11* 



(123) 



BLANKETING. 125 

being used as blankets in the stable ; though they are 
admissible as coverings to throw over the back of a heated 
horse on a cold day, whilst he is standing out of doors or in 
an open shed, with the saddle or harness on, which allows 
of sufficient, but not over, transpiration to take place. It 
will be observed that it is not always the heaviest blanket 
that is the warmest, but that which is fine and soft, made 
of wool and not too porous, allowing some little for weight 
also. The use of rubber coverings on carriage and some 
other horses on wet days would be a positive injury to the 
health were they worn close to the skin; but this is obvi- 
ated by their being fixed outside of the harness, insuring 
much protection and good, with no bad result. The great 
object of the blanket is to give warmth and comfort, and 
its use should not be carried further, for it will then be 
at the expense of the constitution, with a great liability 
to disease. 

The soft wool blanket should always be placed next to 
the skin of a horse that comes to the stable wet, with rain 
or sweat, as it readily absorbs the moisture, to the great 
comfort of the horse. Thick felt and kersey or cloth 
blankets are not fit for this purpose, besides the latter is 
too costly, and should be used only as day blankets, and 
when at slow exercise. The softer and less costly are 
for sweat and night blankets. Quarter-cords should be 
fixed to the blanket when exercising, to prevent their 
being turned up from behind by the wind, but blankets for 
mares when in the stable should have none, as they 



126 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

interfere with urinating, and cause the animal to wet her 
legs. 

Bandages are familiar to most stablemea, but, like the 
blanket, are not so well understood, though applied for 
different purposes and in different conditions and forms. 
Thus we have the dry, wet woollen, linen, chamois leather, 
straw, and hay -rope bandages, all of which at times are in 
use, and, no doubt, are of considerable importance, when 
intelligently used and applied to the legs of the horse. 
But when inconsiderately used they are productive of 
harm, as, for instance, the substitution of the wet when the 
dry is required, and vice versa. 

Dry bandages, when used for the purpose of absorbing 
moisture from the legs, should be of soft woollen, which, 
when applied to the legs that are wet from washing or 
from the roads, will dry them quicker than by almost any 
other means ; at the same time, the limbs are kept warm 
and comfortable, leaving them clean, smooth, and glossy. 
By their application immediately after the legs are washed, 
or when the horse returns to the stable on a wet and cold 
day, no bad consequences need be apprehended. 

For coarse or farm horses, or where economy is to be 
considered, the hay or soft-straw rope, loosely wound round 
the wet or cold legs, is of great benefit, preventing scalding 
of the heels and consequent scratches. 

When it is intended to support the tired limb, or make 
pressure to promote absorption of effused fluids from the 
legs, and consequent swelling, the bandage may be advan- 
tageously made of linen and applied dry. 



BANDAGES. 127 

Wet bandages are usually made of woollen, and are 
used when the legs are hot, tender, or sore, and for the 
purpose of applying lotions and constant fomentations. An 
excellent method is the application of a bandage made of 
chamois or wash leather, wet with a lotion made of one 
drachm each of acetate and sulphate of zinc dissolved in a 
pint of rain water. To gain the full advantage from wet 
bandages, one of dry linen should be wound round and over 
the wet one, to prevent evaporation ; and we may renew 
the moisture by occasionally pouring water or other fluid 
on the leg, between it and the bandage, taking care to wet 
the outside bandage as little as possible. Wet bandages 
should not be continued above twelve hours at a time, after 
which they should be removed and the part exposed to the 
air, to prevent scalding and falling off of the hair. If too 
long continued, the hoofs will become so soft that they will 
not be able to bear much weight upon them, especially 
when on stony roads or cobble-paved street,^. 

Bandages should be from two to three yards in length, 
and the breadth about six to eight inches, tapering to the 
other end to about three inches, and to this tape for tying 
them should be aj6&xed. In well furnished stables, each 
horse should have his full set of bandages. As the appli- 
cation of bandages is quite an art, the greatest care 
should be exercised in applying them ; first, to prevent 
wrinkling the hair, and second, to insure their staying in 
place when put on the leg. This latter consideration is 
important, as no horse of value should be placed in a rail- 



128 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

road car, or on a steamboat for conveyance to any place, 
without warm bandages on every leg. Let tlie strings 
always be tied either on the in or outside and middle of 
the leg, or equi-distant between the knee and pastern joint, 
where they will not interfere with the horse's movements. 
Bandages are only applied on the fore legs from the knee 
to the pastern, and on the hind legs from hock to pastern. 
Tying horses in the stable with good judgment and 
care, is perhaps the best preventive of accidents to them, 
and its neglect is certainly one of the most prolific causes 
of injuries during the night, when no person is near tc 
render assistance in the struggles of entanglement with 
the halter improperly fastened to the manger and fixed 
upon the head of the horse. In an extensive veterinary 
practice of long duration in Philadelphia, many, very many 
cases of injury to valuable horses have we seen, which 
were classed by the stableman, under the very convenient 
covering called accident, and brought about by the indiff"er- 
ent, careless, and unsafe way in which the animals had been 
tied in their stalls. Thus, we have cut heel of the hind 
foot, resembling scratches, by the halter rubbing and cut- 
ting into the flesh — wry-neck, from the animal being cast 
in the stall, by the head being held during, perhaps the 
most of the night, in a bent position — getting loose by slip- 
ping the head halter or untying the halter's shank and 
gorging from the corn-bin and finally dying of colic ; or if 
no feed be within reach, the other tied horses are at the 
mercy of the loose one and defend themselves by kicking 



TYING. 129 

and biting till morning arrives, when a broken leg or a 
wounded and sick horse is seen — as usual, to be placed to 
the account of accident. 

The above-named results, are but a few that can be 
classed amongst avoidable or preventable injuries, which, 
by a judicious and careful system of tying would be almost 
impossible, at least in the stable. The head stall or leather 
portion should neither be too large nor, too small for the 
head to which it is to be fitted, and when it is on, the 
crown strap should also be neither too long nor too short, 
and the loose end should always be secured in its keeper; 
this to many persons seems a small thing, and conse- 
quently a very important matter is thus neglected. The 
head portion of the halter or stall-collar being of a proper 
fit and well secured, attention to the tying of the shank, 
whether of leather, rope, or chain, is of the utmost import- 
ance, because more injury is caused by improper tying of 
this, than ever occurred from the mere getting loose, which 
in itself is often of little account, as the horse may be a 
quiet one, and will neither disturb his mates nor the corn- 
bin. But if the leg gets over the shank of the halter, the 
head is held to the floor, the animal becomes almost frantic 
in his efforts to free himself, dances about, and finally casts 
himself in the stall— the leg is badly bruised, it may be 
broken, and the Jinale is a dead horse. The only safe plan 
of fastening the shank of a halter from the head to the 
manger, is to run the strap or shank through an iron ring, 
secured to the centre of the manger or the top rail by a 



130 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

staple, thus allowing an equal distance to eacli side of the 
stall. The ring should be large enough to admit a free 
movement of the shank through it. No hole cut through 
the boards of the front of the manger will be safe. After 
the shank is put through this loose ring, it should be fas- 
tened to a wooden ball or block, without square corners or 
sharp points of larger size than will be admitted through 
the ring, and weighing about half a pound, with a one inch 
hole through its centre. Thus, this weight attached to the 
end of the halter, acts as a sink to it, and allows no slack, 
therefore the leg cannot get over it. The length of halter 
shank to be allowed may be measured by the height of the 
manger from the floor, or distance the ball will carry the 
loose or slack halter, and let no accumulation of bedding, 
litter or straw, lie immediately under the front of the man- 
ger to prevent the ball sinking clearly to the floor. The 
above plan for tying horses in the stable is the only way 
to avoid accidents, and no other contrivance, short of the 
loose-box, should ever be substituted for the sink-ball. 

Care of the feet of the horse is suggested by our 
large experience, coupled with the truism, " no foot no 
horse," — and further, a good healthy -bodied horse will out- 
wear two sets of legs, and something above that number in 
hoofs and feet. We will therefore- endeavor as best we 
can, to indicate a plan, which when followed will give 
such good results, by a freedom from disease short of acci- 
dent, that will shake the faith of many who believe in the 
above aphorism. To attain so desirable a condition,* the 



CAKE OF THE FEET. 131 

hoofs of a horse should be kept in as natural a condition 
as possible, and this can only be accomplished in the 
trained or domesticated horse by artificial means. 

Deterioration of the foot of the horse, is inseparable from 
his domestication and the purposes for which he is em- 
ployed, unless artificial applications are used, and chief 
amongst these are moisture and refrigerants, — C(^ling appli- 
ances. The want of moisture in the foot of a horse causes 
hardness, which again produces want of elasticity, which 
is soon followed by contraction or shrinking of the posterior 
quarters of the hoof, which gives rise to absorption of the 
sensitive structures within the hoof, ending in ulceration 
of the bones, laming the horse for life. 

The above is only one of the terminations of dry-hard 
hoofs. Another is where hrittleness follows dryness, giv- 
ing rise to sand-cracks or quarter-cracks, chipping, or 
spelking ofi" of portions from the wall of the hoof, so that 
in many such cases a nail-hold cannot be found to affix a 
shoe, and for such condition the shoer is not unfrequently 
made an unwilling sponsor. Any contrivance then capable 
of counteracting and preventing dryness, hardness, and 
hrittleness, is to be sought for and applied, and every cause 
that leads or gives rise to these conditions, should as far 
as possible be avoided. The former conditions are avoided 
by stuffing the soles with flax seed meal, made into a poul- 
tice and laid in the space on the sole, not covered by the 
web of the shoe. This should be applied at night, twice a 
week in winter, when the roads and streets are wet, ^nd 
12 



132 AMEKICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

three to four times in summer wlien the sun is hot and the 
streets are dry. If the stuffing is not sufficient to supply 
moisture, it should be assisted by fever pads, or crescent 
shaped fol'ds of woollen cloths, saturated with cold water, 
and laid over the hoofs and tied behind the foot, with wor- 
sted strings, to prevent marks or shaving off of the hair. 
The pads %y cloths, like the stuffing, may be applied as 
often as may be necessary to keep the hoofs cool and moist, 
taking care, however, not to have the hoofs too soft, or the 
horse will not step as firm upon his feet as he would natu- 
rally do. 

Those causes which give rise to dryness, &c., &c,, of the 
hoofs should be carefully avoided. Thus, the horse-shoer 
should not be allowed to apply a shoe to the foot, either to 
make its bearing, or fix a shoe even slightly warm, but it 
must be positively cold to the foot. Another cause of dry- 
ness, &c., may be avoided, in a great measure, by standing 
-and driving horses in the shade, and not allowing the sun's 
rays to reflect upon them; and finally, by driving over 
roads with the softest surface consistent with the weight 
of the load to which the animal is attached. 

To aid in this matter, a few words to the shoer seem to 
be necessary. Treat the hoofs of horses by no fixed rule, 
as all hoofs are not alike in size, solidity, firmness, and 
depth, although they all belong to horses of the same 
work. Thus, some hoofs will require considerable portions 
of horn to be taken from them at each monthly shoeing, 
while others again cannot afford to be so treated ; and hence 



A FOOT PROPERLY PREPARED FOR THE SHOE. 




A. The heel of the crust. E B. The angles hetween the heels and 

B. The toe. bars, where corns appear. 
C C. The quarters of the crust or wall. F F. The concave surface. 

D D. The bars as they should be left G G. The bulbous heels. 

with the frog between them. H. The cleft. 



(133) 



TREATMENT AFTER WORK. 135 

the necessity for good judgment on the part of a horse- 
shoer to treat each hoof as its conformation suggests. 

Treatment after work forms one of the most im- 
portant considerations of stable economy, and upon the 
adoption of a good, bad, or inconsiderate usage depend the 
health and appearance of the horse. This is the period 
when coughs, colds, lung diseases, and many other ills to 
which horses are subject, are contracted, and can only be 
avoided by a system founded on natural laws. Thus, the 
season of the year, the heat and fatigue of the horse, will 
have to be considered, as well as the location of the stable, 
and its ventilation, the amount of help that can at once be 
made available when warm horses arrive at the stable, and 
whether the animals be clipped or have long and thick 
coats of hair. 

For each variation from the above conditions, a cor- 
responding change or adaptability in the treatment and 
care will have to be provided. Thus a horse that is clipped 
will perform a greater journey without sweating than one 
with a winter and uncut coat of hair upon him. The 
clipped horse, then, is not to be judged of by whether he 
is sweating, but by the length of the journey and the time 
allowed or consumed in it — and his treatment should be 
accordingly; for he is as liable to cold, &c., as the animal 
with a heavier coat, because the heart of all animals after 
fatigue will beat very slow, and hence the necessity for care 
in properly covering and giving small mouthfuls of water ; 
for by the neglect of covering, to assist as a stimulus to the 
12* 



136 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

heart and circulation, and by giving large draughts of cold 
water the circulation will be impeded, and lung disease 
may be the result. To prevent this, keep such horses, at 
least in winter, out of a draught — though this, may be 
allowed in some very warm days in summer — and cover them 
comfortably with woollen blankets (see Blanketing') till the 
hair is dry ; for in winter in this climate no attempt should 
be made to rub the coat dry, as the time thus required 
would chill the horse. Let the heated and tired horse, 
whether he be clipped or not, be kept warm till the time 
of starting further on the journey, or until the next- morn- 
ing. This is safe, and can do no harm. 

It is true, many persons do not like to know of their 
horse standing ail night with a wet coat of hair ; but how 
is this to be got over, without exposing the animal to dis- 
ease, in an attempt to have the hair rubbed dry ? The only 
alternative is to have the hair straightened with a brush 
after using the scraper, and if wet cover up till morning, 
when the hair will be dry, and can then be cleansed. Do 
not wash the feet or legs in winter, unless warm woollen ban- 
dages are immediately applied to them. (See Bandages.) 

In summer, cold water applied even to the whole body, 
but not immediately after work, may occasionally be 
allowed. A mouthful of cold water at all seasons of the 
year should be given, even before the horse is cooled. 
There is more danger in giving cold water to a cold horse 
than to a warm one. If too much cold water is given to 
horses when warm, the caloric or heat of the body is sud- 



TREATMENT AFTER WORK — BEDDING. 137 

denly expended, and then follows a congestive cliill. 
Hence the necessity of giving a warm horse a small quan- 
tity at a time, till he wants no more. Horses after a 
journey should not be allowed feed in small bulk, like oats 
or corn, till the heart and lungs have been restored more 
nearly to their quiet state ; a little hay may be given with 
advantage, because it will prepare the empty stomach to 
receive more solid food without giving rise to colic or acute 
indigestion. The whole art of treatment after work con- 
sists in making the horse comfortable, without causing 
injury. A considerate horseman, on returning, will drive 
slowly as he nears home, thus allowing the horse gradually 
to cool off, obviating all injury from cold water or draughts 
of cold air about the stable. 

What are we to say, however ,• to th.e inconsiderate driver, 
who stables at " livery/^ where all horses return about the 
same time, and all cannot be waited upon at once ? (See 
Livery Stables.') 

Bedding for the stable is a matter of considerable 
importance, not only as to its usefulness, but its expense, 
for of late years, straw sold for this purpose seems con- 
stantly to increase in price, so much so that we consider 
the straw account the most important item in the expenses 
of the city stable, and think that a cheaper substitute is 
imperiously called for. 

Rye-straw, which forms the bedding of most of our 
city or private stables, is perhaps not the best nor the 
cheapest material that could be used, because its extreme 



138 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

lengtli does not fit it for a good litter for horses, as but one- 
half of its length is soiled, and the clean portion has also 
to be thrown to the dung-pit, making a costly manure. Its 
price almost forbids its use for such purposes. 

Saw-dust makes a good bed for horses, and is in use in 
many stables, and appears to give satisfaction. 

Bar-sand makes a very good bed for horses, and is in 
use in some parts of the world. 

Forest Leaves are an excellent bed, when free from 
wood and pieces of tree branches. 

Oat-straw is perhaps, considering all things, the best 
of beds, and is used in nearly all countries, but in our own 
it is almost unknown. 

Salt Marsh and Meadow or Natural Grass makes 
a very good solid bed; but is so much sought after for 
packing material that little is used in the stable. 

Tan Bark is in use in some parts of the country, but 
on account of its stringency, is injurious to the horses' feet. 

Stable vices among well-trained horses are not many, 
nor are they under all circumstances very aggravating; 
some horses with a stranger or new groom, in the strife for 
the mastery, will for a time evince a determination to do 
mischief; but with the old, or on a better acquaintance 
with the new man, will settle down to good behavior. 
This peculiarity of horses, with destructive impulse, is con- 
fined to biting, kicking, &c. ; but tearing the cloths ofi" the 
back, &c., cannot be classed as above. 

Kicking in the stable at night is difficult to remedy, 



KICKING — BITING — SHYING. 139 

because it is often acquired by liabit. It can hardly be 
classed as a vice^ as it is generally in play, although asso- 
ciated with danger and destruction to both the kicker and 
the next stall neighbor, and often results in a broken or 
bruised leg. The remedy consists in the removal of exciting 
causes, such as other playful or idle horses, from the neigh- 
borhood of the kicker. Allow a loose-box or plenty of room, 
and nothing to kick at, regular and plenty of day work, 
but do not stint the feed as is often done in such cases. 

Biting is much like kicking in its cause and effects 
Apply a wire net muzzle, and enforce obedience by always 
holding in the left hand a short stick, so that the animal 
can see it. This is a necessary precaution, because the 
horse is quick to discover its absence and will act accord- 
ingly; it is not necessary to use it, however. We have 
known instances where an extra glass of whiskey induced 
boldness and indifference on the part of the groom, asso- 
ciated perhaps with neglect of the usual stick in hand, has 
caused severe injury. 

Shying in the stable, as on the road, is the result of 
incipient disease of the eyes — a distorted vision — seeing 
things in a hideous form— and in the stable is manifested 
very commonly at the sieve or vessel in which the feed is 
carried to the manger or trough, causing the animal to shy, 
not always /rom the object, but toicards it, as if to crush it 
on the spot, and if the groom is not active in striking the 
animal off from him, he may be crushed against the stall's 
partition. Care and attention will be required on the part 



140 AMEEICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

of the groom till disease of tlie eye destroys tlie eyesight 
altogether; or the horse may be removed into a wijie place, 
where accidents of this character cannot occur. 

Rolling in the stall would not be classed as a vice, if it 
were not that the animal so addicted may get cast, or fall on 
his back, and not be able to rise till assisted in the morn- 
ing. The results of casting in the stall, with the violent 
and determined struggles to get up again, often results in 
broken legs, injuries, and death before assistance arrives. 
To remedy -this habit, or at least prevent its consequences, 
provide a loose-box, a wide stall, or a very narrow one, and 
tie the head just so that the shoulder can rest on the floor, 
but not allow the head and neck to do so. 

The horse that is addicted to rolling is generally a good 
and healthy horse, and it is a pity to deprive him of the 
luxury by any contrivance, if it be not to increase his 
facilities without danger to himself by giving more space. 

Cribbing is familiar to all stablemen, and is a habit 
confined mostly to the stable ; it is caused by indigestion 
and idleness, giving time for one horse to teach it to 
another. It consists in horses filling the stomach with air, 
which in a manner satisfies the appetite to the almost 
exclusion of solid food.* 

Prevention of crib-biting is a difficult matter, so much 

so that we have seen a horse, deprived of all fixtures to 

♦ 

* See Diseases in the "American Stable, Field, and Farm- 
Yard. " Philadelphia: Porter & Goates. 



TEAKING THE BLANKETS. 141 

which his mouth could touch, still perform the act, hating 
recourse to the thigh of his own fore leg upon which to 
press the mouth. 

Breaking loose is a vice easily cured, where space is 
no object, by allowing no halter and confining the animal 
in a loose-box. 

Tearing the Blankets may be remedied by allowing 
all such horses to stand in the stable with none on, or by 
fixing a rod to the check-ring of the head-halter, and the 
other end of it to the surcingle or roller round the body. 

Vicious to clean. — On such a horse put a wire muz- 
zle, and tie the head tight between two posts, and as much 
as possible dispense with the curry-comb or other hard 
instruments, especially with gensitive-skinned horses. 



CHAPTEE YI. 

CARRIAGES, HARNESS, &c. 

Carriages — Their beauty — Lightness, strength, and weakness — 
Axles — Collings' Patent — Patent Mail and Half-mail — Common 
Springs — The Elliptic and Shackle — Their safety and strength 
— Care of Carriages, and how to wash them — The best Grease 
for Axles — Castor Oil— Crown Soap, its make and value — • 
Harness — Specialties in — " Kemble Jackson" Bridle — Kicking 
Strap — Four-in-hand — Tandem— Care of Hai-ness — Saddles and 
Bridles — Bits — Their variety and how to clean them. 

Carriages. — Perhaps no nation or country in the world 
displays sucli beautiful light wagons and carriages as are 
seen in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, and the Central 
Park, New York, on every fine day. To a foreigner, their 
light airy construction is in remarkable contra^ to the 
heavy equipages of Europe. These light and elegant turn- 
outs are peculiar to the United States. The material of 
which they are built in a very great measure insures their 
safety and strength, although our faith in their safety is 
often shaken by the accidents that occur, and which, it 
must be confessed, had a little more substance and strength 

(142) 



CARRIAGES. 143 

been allowed, would have been prevented, and valuable 
lives occasioually have been saved. Are we not sustained 
in this view by the cause which gave rise to the death of 
the late Peter Cagger, of New York? The wheels of his 
wagon broke down without apparent cause, as they did not 
come in collision with any object, but, from their want of 
strength, were unable to stand the smooth avenues of 
Central Park, when attached to a good horse. Would not 
the life of James Harper, of the same city, have been 
saved, if his carriage had been somewhat stronger, to have 
broken the force of the collision? And why was the 
rotten tree-box on Broad Street, Philadelphia, stronger 
than the wagon that caused the death of Mr. Levering ? 

Those who are fond of fast horses, should adopt the sad- 
dle, and eschew the " toy" called a wagon, for in the event 
of a slight collision, down goes the wagon and all that is in 
it, and away runs the horse, with the fragments of fashion- 
able folly attached to him. However, we do not soon 
expect any improvement in this particular, while trotting 
takes the place of running at our race courses, and our 
streets and roads' remain in their present disgraceful state. 
The relation of good or bad roads to horses, carriages, and 
wagons, has not escaped the observation of Dr. J. Gr. Hol- 
land (" Timothy Titcomb"), who writes to the Springjield 
Repuhlican, that with the heavier carriages and wagons of 
Europe, one horse does with more ease and less exertion, 
work that requires two in this country ; and moreover, in 
the city of London the horses go so fast without accident, 
13 



144 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

that their pace would not be allowed by the police regula- 
tions of Springfield, Massachusetts. He concludes his 
views by propounding the question " whether it would not 
be easier and less expensive for us to keep one mile of road 
in good order, than to buy and feed an extra horse ?" We 
are not of those who believe that by increasing the safety 
of carriages and wagons, used for family and pleasure pur- 
poses, by the addition of a little extra weight to them, the 
improvement of trotters would not be continued, and that 
they would be allowed to deteriorate. The Scotch gentle- 
man was about right, when after a little misunderstanding 
whether he or his coachman should keep sober to drive 
home one evening after a dinner party, and on the arrival 
of the carriage it was found empty^ he concluded in the 
morning to have a new vehicle, not only strong, but one 
that would positively hold in. 

We do not charge our carriage and wagon builders with 
fraud upon their too unsuspecting patrons, but they are 
not altogether blameless, inasmuch as we see the fine and 
expensive carriage often provided with inferior axles and 
springs, both in quality and make. This would not so 
often be the case, were owners better informed as to the 
''essentials" that constitute a good and safe carriage. 
Are the prices of carriages and wagons not sufl&cient to 
afford a " Collings" axle, that are so safe and so highly 
prized by every person, who has ever had them in use ? 
Our firemen and their truck builders are ahead of builders 
and buyers of fine carriages in this particular. 



CARRIAGES. 145 

Among the many advantages of the " ColHngs" axle, we 
may mention, that it does not need bolts to* hold the wheel 
in its place ; and it requires to be greased or oiled only 
three to four times a year. These axles on our " drag'^ 
have been greased once in six months, and then they 
did not require it.* It is also impossible for a wheel run- 
ning on these to be forced off, because of the reversable 
brass burrs, three in number, and which are finally secured 
by a tempered steel spring-keeper, the whole covered from 
view by a silver or other metal ornamented cup, screwed 
to and revolving with the wheel. In addition to the above- 
named advantages, these axles are made by a peculiar pro- 
cess, and so durable, that with ordinary care, they will last 
the wear of several carriages or during the longest lifetime. 
Yet, notwithstanding the advantages of the Collings, the 
ordinary cart but diminutive axles are seen too often on our 
expensive carriages. 

This matter of axles is not the only lexception we make 
to the finish of a perfect carriage, for every day when our 
attention is attracted to them, the springs of many are 
also decidedly faulty, and even dangerous to life and 
destructive to the other portions of the vehicle. Let us 
illustrate, by simple reference to the fact, that the upper 
and lower half of the spring being joined firmly at each 
end, allowing no elongation when weight is placed upon it, 
the result that naturally follows this confinement is that 

* The material for greasing was castor oil. 



146 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

the spring will either be broken, or as it were take offence 
at its unreasonable restraint, and toss out the occupants 
of the carriage. If, however, the weight be not sufficient 
to do this, the vehicle will be a very miserable one to ride 
in, will soon become worn in parts and discarded — if in the 
meantime, the driver or coachman be not innocently 
blamed for rough driving, discharged, and another a little 
more intelligent employed, who will find out the cause of 
the difficulty. We have known instances of this kind to 
occur in Philadelphia. 

While with a friend at Point Breeze Park one day, a 
gentleman drove in with a fine horse and wagon. My 
friend asked him if he had not lost the cushions? "No; 
they are under the seat,'^ was the reply ; and on further 
investigation we ascertained that the gentleman could not 
keep his seat on the cushion, but from what cause he did 
not know. My friend at once suggested that the springs 
were not only too stiff and strong, but their principle of 
make was wrong also. 

The remedy for this condition of things lies not so much 
with the buyer as with the builder, although the intelli- 
gent are not innocent, inasmuch as they often do not 
demand their rights. If they did, builders would neces- 
sarily be more particular as to the safety, comfort, and 
construction of their carriages, and give a fair return for 
the money invested. 

The springs of family carriages and business and goods 
wagons are, on the whole, made on better principles than 



SPRINGS — SHACKLES. 147 

those placed on the road wagon, because the C, the cradle, 
and shackle spring are still used, but on the road and 
trotting wagon are not to be seen. Every road and trot- 
ting wagon should be placed on elliptic springs as they now 
are built, but with the addition of a shackle^ at least on one 
end, to allow of elongation and contraction, according to the 
weight placed upon them, and the condition of road or 
street, and our word for it less breakdowns will occur.* 

Until we have the introduction of shackles to allow 
shuttle movement, broken springs and accidents with loss 
of life will be of frequent occurrence. For road and trotting 
wagons of two springs, one in front and one behind, and 
placed along the axle, a shackle on one end of each will be 
enough ; but this would give an odd appearance ; therefore 
to prevent this, let one of the shortest shackles be placed at 
both ends of each of the two springs, making them more 
pleasing to the eye and even more serviceable. For wagons 
of four springs, and placed across the axles, there will be 
no necessity for shackles on loth ends of the spring, either 
for appearance or safety; but let the shackle be placeii on 
the end reaching under the body of the wagon. Carriages 
with springs so constructed are easy to ride in, and will 
wear many years longer. With shackled springs and Col- 
lings axles, we can sail — don't say ride — over the rough- 

* It is estimated that $56,000,000 is lost annually to the people 
of the United States in wear and tear of horses, vehicles and har- 
ness, by bad systems of road-making and street paving. 
13* 



148 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

est and most hilly roads of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, 
with no jarring or jostling to the body, nor straining to 
the vehicle. 

We must, however, leave the general construction of 
carriages to those to whom it more properly belongs. Our 
best axles are the mail, and half-mail or half patent, and are 
not in or up to the general improvements in most other 
things made by our mechanics. 

The CARE AND CLEANSING OF CARRIAGES in a Satisfac- 
tory and proper manner is understood by but few persons. 
Whether carriages be idle or in everyday use, they never- 
theless require care and attention. Moths and rust, mil- 
dew and decay are the result of idleness and improper 
housing, and can only be prevented by good ventilation 
and dryness. Carriages in daily use should be washed, 
and not dusted, after the journey is over, with cold 
water. The articles in use for the washing of carriages 
are : the sponge, one for the panels or body proper, 
which should be kept free from dirt and sand, and 
another for the under carriage and wheels; the spoke- 
brush, for the tires of the wheels. The mop of cloth, 
attached to a handle, is not in use in this country, as the 
sponge is sufficient, and not very costly ; but as a matter 
of economy it is an excellent contrivance in the place of 
the sponge. These articles are for the rough or outside 
cleansing of carriages. The chamois leather, commonly 
called the wash-leather, is also used in its dry and wet 
state — the wet one to dry or absorb the moisture after 



CLEANING CAERIAGES. 149 

washing, the dry one for polishing the glass of the windows 
and plated work of the wheels, doors, &c. A duster and 
fine-haired brush will be required for the cushions and 
lining, whether it be an open or covered carriage. The 
first movement in the washing of a fine varnished carriage 
is to move it where sand and dirt will not fly against it, by 
the splashing of water on the ground or floor. Such a 
place is provided in city or private stables ; not so, however, 
in all livery and country stables , but where care is one of 
the elements of a coachman's nature, he will have a round 
or sparred rack, the full length and breadth of his carriage, 
constructed out of any kind of spars laid on the ground, 
upon which the carriage stands till washed. The next 
movement is to. close the windows, put down the curtains, 
if it be an open carriage, remove the cushions to where 
they will not get wet, and commence by throwing an abun- 
dance of cold water all over the carriage, at first on the top, 
which will also wet the lower parts in its descent. This is 
important, especially if the vehicle be very muddy, so that 
no force other than the water will be required to remove 
it. This being accomplished, the top and panels may 
then be slightly washed with clear water with the sponge 
kept for this purpose. Allow the water to drip off whilst 
the under carriage and wheels are being sponged, and when 
all are cleanly washed, sponge with their respective 
sponges, moist, but not wet ; after which dry with the wet 
or damp wash-leather. The carriage may now be opened 
and the curtains rolled up, the mountings of silver, or 



150 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

whatever they may be, polished, the carriage removed to 
its place, and before it is used again the inside and win- 
dows should be put in order. 

To keep carriages looking well and free from stains as 
long as possible, wash them shortly after coming to the 
stable, if the hour of the night be not too late. If the 
axles be common, grease with " crown soap," so that the 
spots or stains will wash off again ; but if the axles are 
one of the patents, use castor oil, which does not " gum," 
and can in great part be washed off, and moreover, lasts 
much longer than almost anything else. " Crown" soap 
is now much used by steam marine engineers, for certain 
parts of the machinery. Crown soap is simply the Scotch 
soft-soap, but differs very much both in appearance and 
material from the American soft-soap. It is made with 
whale or cod oil and lie of potassa, the oil giving a dark 
brown color to it, and by the addition of a small proportion 
of tallow, the solid white granulations of stearate of potassa 
are formed, giving the appearance of the meat of figs. 
Soft-soaps made from fats, give a dirty white color or shade. 

The crown soap is largely imported into this country, 
and is chiefly used in our private stables for harness, sad- 
dles, bridles and leather, saving the necessity of greasing 
or oiling, to keep them soft. In addition, we now recom- 
mend -it as a wheel-grease for common axles, which cannot 
hold grease very long. The manufacturer of soap, who 
will take hold of it, will no doubt reap a fair remuneration ; 
for what is bought of it in England for three pence (6 



HARNESS. 151 

cents), is sold by our harness-makers, saddlers and seeds- 
men for one dollar.* 

Harness, its make and material, requires little notice, 
and our space can be more profitably and usefully occupied. 
We may remark that it should be fit for the purpose for 
which it is intended, plain and substantial, either with 
black mounts, or those of silver plate. The present fashion 
of Prince's metal mounts, or gold imitation, is not only 
wanting in good taste, but difficult to keep clean, and if it 
is not clean, looks like shabby gentility. Kather adopt the 
old brass mounts, than the glitter which is not gold, and 
which is a source of annoyance to the stableman- in his 
efi'orts to cleanse and polish ornaments, and please his 
employer. 

Specialities in Harness. — Although we hear much 
of advice and remonstrance from the Societies for the Pre- 
vention of Cruelty to Animals, and to horses, from the use 
of the bearing-rein, nothing has been publicly said about 

* Crestlic Soap. — A soap in the manufacture of which carbolic 
acid is used, and which stablemen will find it to be of the greatest 
oenefit, in the healing of sores of all kinds. Scratches, chafes from 
the saddle, collar, or other parts of the harness, mange, ring-worm, 
flies, fleas, lice and parasites, whether on the horse or dog, will 
surely be cured by the use of this soap. Its disinfectant properties 
are so great that its use is almost demanded in the cleansing of 
stables, harness, brushes and combs, when infectious and conta- 
gious diseases have been in the stable. Those persons at all 
acquainted with the properties of carbolic acid, will at once recog- 
nise the great value of cresylic soap. 



152 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

the eflfects arising, whether injurious or otherwise, from 
the use of the new-fledged contrivance of a bridoon bridle 
for single or double carriage driving. It cannot be from 
its harmless use that the silence from such a quarter is to 
be attributed, but more perhaps from attention not being 
directed to it. 

This bridle, perhaps, would be of no more injury or 
inconvenience to the driving or family carriage-horse than 
the old English bridoon bridle and bit, were it used and 
applied with the horse in the same way, for certainly it is 
for the same purposes and with the same end in view. 
Correctly speaking, it is only part of the harness of the 
horse's head and mouth. In the mode of use or applica- 
tion of this contrivance to the mouth, head, and neck of 
the horse, lies its great objection in our view. Instead of 
the application or attachments to the bridoon bit in the 
mouth, being by two ends of a strap, and carried to the 
middle turret on the harness-saddle, by the old style of 
bearing-rein, and secured there, this rein is carried from 
the mouth up the face, forehead, and along the crest of 
the mane, and is secured as in the old style, to the middle 
hook or turret of the saddle. 

The objection is not so much to the bridle as to the 
mode of bearing. Thus the bearing against the lower jaw, 
as with the ordinary way of bearing-rein, is done away 
with, and the bit is pulled up with persistent force by a 
powtTful leverage, against the soft muscles and skin of 
each side of the mouth, to its injury, causing the head to 



HARNESS — KICKING-STRAP. 153 

be carried very higli and in an unnatural position. Indeed 
it is a severe gag in the mouth, possessing all the faults 
and giving rise to all the evils of the bridoon and bit, with- 
out any advantages, unless it be the extreme elevation of 
the head by the fulcrum or crown of the head, over which, 
this contrivance plays. 

To close this notice of a Kemble Jackson bridle without 
protesting against its use, would be a dereliction of duty 
to an animal that deserves better treatment at our hands. 
Happily, however, its use is not general among our horse- 
men, but is confined chiefly to some livery and sales stables, 
to create the impression to the simple in such matters, of 
the extra style and show of an animal designed to be parted 
with or sold whenever a price can be obtained — and is one 
of the means adopted to attract attention of customers by 
a display of his style and high carriage. 

The Kicking-strap. — This is not the contrivance 
exhibited to audiences by so called " horse-tamers,'^ but 
a plain strap passing over the loins of the horse when in 
harness, and buckled to a strap passing round the shafts 
of the wagon. By its use when so attached, the mere 
effort to kick by raising the hind parts, elevates the shafts 
and front part of the wagon, thus keeping the vehicle at 
all times at good distance from ordinary kicking horses 
heels. In Europe, the kicking-strap is used on all road 
horses, instead of the ordinary breeching, looks better, and 
is less cumbersome. 

Four-in-hand. — However much we admire this drive, 



154 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE, 

which is occasionally seen, it does not, as a rule, find favor 
among our wealthiest citizens, although some have adopted 
it. There are many styles of these turnouts, and all are 
more or less elegantly and expensively gotten up. 

Tandem is a style of driving not often seen and not much 
admired. It is difiicult to manage, and our streets are no 
place for its use. It requires a good macadamized road, very 
little crowded. The harness for this drive, like the four- 
in-hand, is a mere duplicate of that on the wheel-horses, the 
traces and reins and whip being of suitable length, with the 
addition of a person who knows how to use them. 

Care op Harness. — The harness, like the carriage, 
requires, when dirty, to be washed with water and dried 
with wash-leather, and finally blackened with blacking and 
polished with a brush. 

The following is a valuable receipt for the making of 
harness paste or blacking : — 



Beeswax 



J pound. 



Crown soap . . . . ^ pound. 

Ivory black . . . .2 ounces. 

Indigo . . . . . • IJ ounces. 
Oil of turpentine . . .3 tablespoonfuls. 

Dissolve in a vessel over a slow fire, and stir till the mixture is 
perfectly cold. 

The above should be all that new or soft harness should 
get, not only as a polishing agent, but as a softening com- 
pound. If the harness be very hard and stifi", soften it 
with the following mixture : — 



CARE OP HARNESS. 155 

Linseed oil . . . . . .1 pint. 

Tallow 1 pound. 

Beeswax ...... 1 ounce. 

Rosin ....... 1 ounce. 

Dissolve over a slow fire, and apply warm. 

For fine new and costly harness, at least for tlie first 
year, the crown soap already spoken of is all that will be 
found necessary. The crown soap is not used so much for 
washing the harness as it is for softening and keeping the 
leather pliable, and may be applied as follows ; The harness 
being previously cleansed and dry, smear on a little with 
the hand, as if going through the process of greasing or 
oiling ; after this, come lightly over it with a wet or damp 
sponge, and dry with the wash-leather. A fine soft 
appearance^ not unlike a piece of dressed kid skin, will be 
the result. If a polish be required shortly afterward, the 
harness will have to be thoroughly polished previous to 
soaping, softening, or greasing, and a polish can immedi- 
ately be produced, with little labor, by the use of the 
paste. The mountings of silver are less troublesome 
to keep in good condition than any other kind, even 
by soap and water ; but a slight rub with a dry chamois 
blackened with lampblack and dipped in a little whiting, 
will be all that can be desired. 

Brass and Prince's or yellow metal mounts are difficult 

to keep clean and free from stains or spots, which can 

hardly be removed by rubbing, if not previously moistened 

by some of the mineral acids. To save labor and make a 

14 



156 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

perfect polisli without stains in the metal, the following 
receipt will be found a very eflPective and valuable polish- 
ing liquid :— 

Sulphuric acid 1 ounce. 

Cold water . . . . . .J pint. 

Tripoli . . . . . . .1 ounce. 

Pour the acid into the water in a bowl, till the heat that is gen- 
erated passes off; then pour it into a bottle and add the tripoli. 
This will prevent the breaking of the bottle and the loss of the 
liquid. 

The above mixture was given by us to a few persons, 
and was used with great effect for the first time in the sum- 
mer of 1868 at Long Branch. It is next to impossible 
to keep brass and yellow metal in order at the sea side. 

Saddles are, since the late war, made of various shapes 
and of different materials, each of which, no doubt, pos- 
sesses properties of value, peculiar to itself, and as we are 
not as a people much in favor of scampering on horseback, 
we will confine ourselves to the case of saddles made in 
part of the skin of the pig and of other brown leather. 
Saddles should, like harness and carriages, be washed when 
dirty, and when not in use covered from the dust and pro- 
tected from moths. To give a fine dark brown shade to 
white or brown leather, nothing answers so good a purpose 
as the watery portion of the blood of the ox, kept in a 
corked bottle and protected from smelling and decay by. a 
few drops or grains of carbolic acid mixed with it. As a 
substitute for this, no better is known than the crown soap, 



SADDLES — BEIDLES — BITS. 157 

both for coloring and keeping the material in good order. 
As a preventive of the moth in saddles, blankets, &c., a 
strong solution of carbolic acid should be sprinkled over 
and amongst them before they are covered up. 

Bridles for riding purposes are made of brown leather, 
and are kept and cleaned like the saddle. 

Bits for riding or driving are of many patterns and 
devices, each of which has its distinct name; but as a 
universal bit for riding and driving, the plain snaffle is the 
one. Some horses with hard mouths require a curb, and 
as a matter of safety and taste, when on horseback, a 
double bit is used, a snaffle and curb, separate or combined. 
When separate, the curb is called a Pelham bit ; but some 
prefer a Hanovarian, a bit of greater power and purchase 
on the mouth of the horse. Those who are familiar with 
the writings of Baucher of France, will see that he insists 
that one kind of bit is sufficient for all horses, and inas- 
much as his choice falls upon a double bit or hit and hri- 
doon, we cannot but agree with him that the horse that 
cannot be managed by either snaffle or curb, is not worth 
having or contending with. Bits are made of polished 
steel ; but to encourage laziness they are often plated with 
silver, which soon becomes rusty and shabby. The stable- 
man that cannot keep a few bits from rusting, is not likely 
to be a good groom. Bits cost too much money to let 
them rust because they have been plated. No cover to 
polished steel can improve its appearance. An old plated 
steel bit is worthless, but one of clear steel will command 



158 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

its value. Bar-sand, soap and a piece of woollen cloth are 
all that is necessary to cle'an steel bits and keep them in 
order. Tasty persons burnish the bits every time they 
are used. Before putting them aside, it will be necessary, 
to prevent rust, to have them wiped over with a woollen 
rag, previously oiled with salad or sweet oil. 

Carriage or family horses, however gentle and kind in 
temper, disposition, easy of mouth, and management when 
in harness, should never be trusted without bits, because 
we see too often the folly of such dependence. We can 
call to memory the loss of life and destruction of property, 
arising from such a neglect. 

The single and double harness horse, however gentle he 
may be, can only be considered safe and manageable in the 
moment of danger when provided with a curb or bar bit. 
Circumstances will occasionally arise in which power and 
promptitude can only save from accident — like the good 
staunch ship, in strict obedience to its rudder in the storm. 
However unpleasant the mouth of the horse may feel with 
a snaffle-bit, there can be no exceptional argument as to its 
universal safety, under certain conditions ; for no well-fed, 
spirited horse, when excited, can be controlled by one 
person, with a plain bit in its mouth. It is this know- 
ledge, we believe, which gave for the saddle-horse a double 
bridle, with both snaffle and curb bit, either of which can 
be used in the moment of danger. The safety-rein in use 
in some parts of Europe, and used for safety on harness- 
horses, has the same purpose. It is buckled to a curb or 



BITS — THE CURB. 159 

powerful bit, while the driving reins are attached to the 
rings of a plain snaffle. Thus the '^ snaffle-mouthed" horse 
is driven with pleasure to all concerned, and at the same 
time safety is fully insured by a gentle reminder, or use of 
the reins, of the powerful Pelham, Hanoverian, or, it may 
be the carriage harness curb, or bar bit. 

The bridoon and bit of the family carriage horse answers 
the same purpose, but their use is a little reversed, as the 
snaffle is attached to the bearing-rein, and the driving-reins 
to the curb, by which the horse is guided and driven with 
safety and pleasure to all. 

The Curb and its use merits a word from us on the 
same account, because upon its presence or absence, and 
proper attachment to the bit, depend the control of the 
horse and safety of the person on or behind him. 

Curbs are made of steel links or chain, and attached to 
each side of the bit by spring hooks, and when properly 
adjusted, lie immediately on or behind the chin. The 
tightness of the chain-curb should be just sufficient to 
admit a finger between it and the horse's lower jaw. 

Curbs of leather straps are not safe, either in strength 
or severity, when danger approaches, and should therefore 
be replaced by the curb-chain. Some riders consider 
themselves unsafe without a Lip-strap to pass through a 
ring in the centre of the curb, and attached to each side 
of the bridle, to prevent the horse from working the bit up 
between his teeth, and holding it there, in defiance of his 
14* 



160 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

rider. In harness, tlie same contrivance can with equal 
effect be applied. 

Whatever deference may be paid to a favorite groom or 
coachman in matters of the stable, allow no change from a 
curb-bit with chain curb, under any circumstances, " be- 
cause," as a faithful coachman said to us the other day, 
" they may be wanted were they not on." It is the want 
of a thing that more forcibly and. frequently attests its 
value, for by its use we are apt to overlook its true worth 
by its saving influence. 



CHAPTEE VII. 



VETERINARY SURGEONS. 



Veterinary Nostrums of the Stableman — Fattening — Glossing tlie 
Coat — Conditioning Horses. 

Perhaps no interest of the stable is of as mucli import- 
ance to tlie owner of horses as the assurance of the services 
of a sensible veterinarian, not only when sickness or acci- 
dent occurs, but as an adviser, with a view to the pre- 
vention of disease an,d the promotion of a high standard of 
health in the horse. 

In a year or so it is our intention to retire from the 
veterinary profession to the quiet shades of a country home, 
never more to return to active life, unless it be not to assist 
with our advice immediate neighbors, in the stable, field, 
or fold. 

We have thus prefaced with the above remarks, in order 
to show that we have no private ends to serve or prejudice 
to vent in a review of this important stable adjunct. Our 
success and profit in practice, together with the advan- 
tages accrued thereby to patrons, leave for us nothing 

(161) 



162 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

further to be desired; therefore we can afford to give 
honest views and truthful expressions as a guide in the 
selection of a veterinary surgeon. In a country like this, 
it is therefore to be expected that there are persons of 
almost every nationality to be found in all our large cities 
and towns following and practising veterinary medicine and 
surgery. The success to themselves and satisfaction to 
their employers we will not individually attempt to trace ; 
but it is our undoubted conviction, arising from experi- 
ence and the practice of others, that no school or nation- 
ality of veterinary science is as perfect as it should be, and 
its followers therefore partake of the same deficiency, if by 
intuition the necessity of a good medical education be not 
seen and acquired in addition thereto. This will be seen 
without argument, when we find the preponderance in 
numbers of celebrated veterinarians throughout the world 
to be M. D.'s in addition to Y. S. 

We need not refer to the dashing young student (Cole- 
man), of Sir Astley Cooper, the great surgeon of England, 
Percival, the accomplished geotleman and author, and of 
Professor G-amgee himself, who has in his writings dis- 
tinctly stated that by a combination of a veterinary and 
domestic medical education, the most perfect of veterina- 
rians are produced. Mr. Greaves, a veterinary surgeon of 
good standing, in Manchester, England, and one of the 
board of examiners of the students of the Eoyal College 
of veterinary surgeons of London, states that many of its 
graduates do not even know in which leg a horse is lame. 



VETERINARY SURGEONS. 163 

This, to our knowledge is not only true of some of them 
in their own country, but of this also, and we know of but 
few of them who ever brought credit upon their alma 
mater, the profession, or M. R. C. V. S. How is it that 
their proficiency in theory is so seldom borne out by facts, 
when laid before our courts of justice and Philadelphia 
lawyers, in cases of veterinary medical jurisprudence ? 

We would not have placed the blame of almost universal 
inefficiency to any particular school, were we not exactly 
informed of it by our distinguished friend and surgeon 
Professor Samuel D. Gross, M. D., of the Jefferson Medical 
College of Philadelphia, who in accordance with the 
expressed wish of the "American Medical Association,'' 
as a committee on veterinary colleges in the United States, 
visited several like institutions in England and France, 
during his late tour abroad. 

In confirmation, independent of our experience as to the 
general inefficiency of some of the graduates from this 
college, we will merely refer to the controversy that arose 
on contraction of the horse's foot, between Robert Bonner, 
Esq., of New York, and Veterinary Professor John 
Gamgee, of London. 

The unsatisfactory result of the special examination as to 
the cause and nature of the Texan cattle disease certainly 
adds nothing to its credit. 

The Scotch or Edinburgh graduates who, although fully 
entitled to the appellation of M. R. C. Y. S., by the sign 
manual of 1858, forming the law of affiliation of all the 



164 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

veterinary colleges of the British Islands, absolutely refuse 
to adopt its title or recognise the St. Pancras or London 
institution. 

The German veterinarians are mostly followers of Hahne- 
mann and homoeopathy, and can only give satisfaction to 
those who believe in its tenets. 

The French are intelligent, and are as a whole good 
practitioners, a little unnecessarily cruel, perhaps, in some 
operations, but brilliant in their execution. The want of 
good knowledge of the English language militates much 
against them, as it does also against the German and 
other European continental practitioners, when in this 
country. 

Of whatever nationality or school, the person to be fully 
relied upon must, in addition, have a few years' practice 
and observation before a reliable knowledge can be acquired 
as to the climate and constitution of American horses and 
other animals. Persons in the profession without this 
observation can never be adepts in the art, or give satisfac- 
tion to their employers, or obtain profit for themselves. 

The American practitioner, whether native or of long 
residence, is good or indifferent, just in proportion to the 
acquirements of the national smartness or general intelli- 
gence. On the whole they are a set of reliable and useful 
members of society, and are entitled to confidence, being 
well aware that an active competition would otherwise soon 
overwhelm and almost extinguish their professional indi- 
viduality and reputation in the profession. 



VETERINARY NOSTRUMS. 165 

The Veterinary Nostrums of the stableman and pro- 
fessional horseman, are perhaps too extensive and too 
various to require individual mention. Their use or object 
being almost entirely confined to improving the condition 
of the horse, but more especially to producing a sleek and 
glossy coat. Some few stablemen, however, make great 
pretension to veterinary knowledge, and are too ready to 
test it on the property of their employers. This should 
not be allowed, where good and experienced veterinary 
surgeons can conveniently be obtained. It is poor policy 
and worse logic ; for according to it, the barber by force of 
circumstances can take the place of the family physician. 

Without at all referring to the treatment of diseases of 
horses by the veterinary knowledge acquired in the stable, 
on the box of the carriage, or back of the horse, we will 
merely mention the means used by some of them, for the 
purpose of fattening and smoothing the coats of horses. 

Arsenic. — Arsenic of commerce or white arsenic is by 
the dealer considered a great favorite in the fattening of 
horses, and it must, in truth be said, will not when given 
in moderate doses and continued sufficiently long, fail to 
please the giver. The dose should not exceed five grains ; 
we have known much suffering and loss of animal life and 
property by the use of this drug when purchased according 
to its money value. 

Horses fed with arsenic are difficult to keep in good con- 
dition and with a smooth coat of hair, when after a time 
they are deprived of the drug. 



166 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

Antimony, Sulphur and Nitrate of Potassa or 
Saltpetre in certain proportions is not an American nos- 
trum, but of English origin, and is often used by persons 
in the American stable, not so niucli for fattening pur- 
poses as for giving a fine coat, wbicb it will not fail to do. 
It must, however, be remembered that antimony is a metal 
difficult of solution, and consequently injurious to tlie pas- 
sive organs of the body, sucli as the liver and kidneys, in 
which, after death, it can be seen throughout their sub- 
stance. 

AsSAFCETiDA. — This gum-resin is a substance of frequent 
use for the promotion of the appetite and spirit of the 
horse, and some, on account of the alliaceous smell, tie a 
piece of it to the bridle bit to prevent horses from " catch- 
ing'^ any disease. It is a good bitter and will promote the 
appetite, but has no effect as a preventive of sickness. 
Gentian Root would be a good substitute for assafoetida 
for the stomach of the horse, when given in half ounce 
doses. 

Carraway and Coriander Seeds singly, or combined 
with Fenugreek, are great favorites with many persons for 
promoting the appetite, but are too costly; and moreover, 
better and more economical substitutes can be had. 

Sweet Oil and Mustard Seed are used by some sta- 
blemen to smooth the coat — one ounce of oil to a teaspoon- 
ful of the mustard seed. It will here be observed, that the 
oil is a good fattening material when given to animals in 
doses not sufficient to move the bowels or disturb the 



VETERINARY NOSTRUMS. 167 

stomach, and the seed of mustard would be more effectual, 
were it ground before being given. 

Of the effects of the above mixture, we cannot speak 
from experience, but we are fully assured by those in whom 
we can believe, that it is beneficial. 

Gunpowder and White op Egg are among the pecu- 
liar and inexplicable improvers of animal tissue, why, we 
cannot well understand, nevertheless, they are occasionally 
employed for the purpose of giving spirit and life to horses 
of easy disposition and not disposed to run off. The effects 
produced by a few days' administration, we are assured by 
one who has employed this mixture, to be almost miracu- 
lous, causing quiet horses to attempt to run away. "We 
do not vouch for the truth of the effects of the above. 
Those who are curious, can with little trouble and expense 
test the effects for themselves. 

Willow-Bark Tea. — This is a favorite as well as a 
harmless substance, when given to horses, mixed in their 
feed ; it imparts good spirits and appearance. The bark is 
gathered before the young shoots are ripe and the sap of 
the tree has gone down. Then it is dried in a low-heated 
oven, or in the sun, and a few ounces of it put into a pot, 
with a quart of water, and boiled down to a pint. A tum- 
blerful is poured over the feed once a day, or at night only. 

AYe do not doubt the efficacy of this as a conditioner and 
appetizer of the horse, as the willow or osier contains a 
principle similar in some respects to the valuable and costly 
quinine. 
15 



168 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

Snake Root — Virginiana Aristolochia Serpenteria. — 
A great, and perhaps the greatest and most favorite of 
all the stable bitters for the conditioning and laying of 
the coats of carriage horses — at least it is so in Philadel- 
phia. There are few coachmen in this city who have not 
recourse to its efficacy. The root, after being gathered and 
dried, is fit for use. A portion of it is placed in an earthen 
or iron pot or vessel, covered with cold water, and allowed 
to steep for an indefinite time. The liquor only is used, 
and poured on and mixed with the evening meal every 
night, or till the expected improvement, whether of appe- 
tite or condition, or both, be satisfactory. It certainly does 
not offer those objections which exist against other articles 
in use for conditioning horses. 

The above-named articles in use by stablemen and others 
are, as a rule, given to the horse without the knowledge or 
consent of the owner, but in the most secret manner. 
Certainly the owner is seldom if ever appealed to for any- 
thing for such a purpose, but he may be and is often told 
that time, &c., will improve the animals of the stable, little 
suspecting the use or effects of drugs. 

Our substitute for any or all of the above, either 
harmless or injurious to the horse, is composed of materials 
indicated by the general condition and constitution of 
horses, viz., a disposition to anemia or thinness of blood, 
and consequent want of spirit and fineness of coat or hair. 
These conditions are best met when the materials for blood 
making enter the stomach, coupled with those substances 



VETERINARY NOSTRUMS. 169 

known to promote digestion and assimilation of the food — 
as follows : — 

Sulphate of iron, powdered . . .2 ounces. 

Gentian root, " . . .4 ounces. 

Pimento berries, " . . .4 ounces. 

Mix, and divide into twelve powders. Give one in the evening 
feed two or three times a week. 

It must not be forgotten that good sound corn, oats, hay, 
stabling, bedding, and grooming are all that is required for 
the health of horses. The effects of colds, coughs, &c., 
however, should not be neglected, as they have a very great 
tendency to give rise to watery and weak blood. To over- 
come this, a few doses of the above mixture will do good, 
and may be the means of saving a valuable horse. 

To continue further the subject of nostrums^ we may 
state that they are not confined to fattening of horses, but 
for every species of sores, lameness, &c. We have never 
heard mention, in all our experience in stables and among 
horsemen, of anything superior to a trot or heavy blanket 
that is used to check a " chill'' upon a horse. We consider 
it of more importance thaft all the nostrums combined ; for 
the effects of a chill are usually in strict proportion to its 
severity and duration. To supply a safe and certain 
remedy as a check to a congestive or other chill, will be to 
the coachman or horseman a matter of the first importance, 
when it is remembered that the chill, if not almost imme- 
diately checked, will the next day, or perhaps sooner, 



170 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

result in pleurisy, lung disease, bowel affections, or foun- 
dering. 

Make a solution of tlie acetate of ammonia, eiglit ounces, 
and give as a drench out of a bottle, and increase the 
clothing till the chill is checked. It should be given when 
freshly made. 

Horses are subject to chills in winter after drinking 
water. To avoid this, fill each bucket and place them in 
the stable on a sparred rack laid on the floor, so that the 
water will, before the hour for watering comes around, be 
of the temperature of the stable, and near that of the body 
of the horses also. 



CHAPTEK EIGHTH. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

* 
Breeding and Training of Horses — Accidents— Sprains — Diseases 

— Eunaway Horses — Pasturing of Colts and young Horses — 
Clipping — Good Feed overlooked, but an important agent in im- 
provement of Breeds of Horses. 

Breeding and Training of Horses. — We would re- 
spectfully recommend all who are interested in tliis impor- 
tant subject, to peruse the work entitled " The Horse 
in the Stable and the Field." 

Accidents. — In the case of accidents to horses in the 
stable of whatever character, time should be taken to con- 
sider the nature of the injury, and determine the best 
course to pursue, and not to be in haste to have recourse 
to nostrums, bleeding, blistering, physicking, or starving 
the suffering animal. Soothe any irritation or agitation 
under which the horse may suffer; allow free ventilation, 
and give it all the cold water it may desire. Then, if it be 
necessary, a good sensible veterinary surgeon may be called 
in to consult with the owner as to the cause, cure, and pre- 
vention of the disease in future. Simple bruises, cuts, or 
sores on the skin may be left to nature, or at most anointed 
with tincture of myrrh and aloes, and if the sores discharge 
15* (171) 



172 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

matter, substitute a wash of chloride of zinc, in the propor- 
tion of four grains to the ounce of soft water to check 
excessive granulation (proud flesh). In the heat of sum- 
mer, sores do not as a general thing heal readily. 

Sprains. — The effects of sprains in horses depend on 
their situation and severity. If a ligament be sprained 
it will be more readily cured than if the injury involve the 
articulations of a joint; this not only gives more - trouble, 
but is liable to a recurrence. Sprains of the muscles, liga- 
ments, or articulations of a joint require for their cure 
absolute and entire rest, without which little good result 
will be observed from the best-directed treatment. Let 
no hot oils, liniments, embrocations, or blisters be applied, 
till all heat and tenderness have been removed ; after this 
is fully assured and the foot placed more firmly upon the 
ground, the following liniment may be applied : — 

Take of Oil of Olives, 

Oil of Turpentine, 

Tincture of Aconite Roots, each two ounces, 

Mix and apply once daily till the skin becomes a little 
rough or swollen. 

Diseases. — The diseases to which horses are subject 
are many, and some are peculiar to the American sta- 
ble. Hence the necessity for the employment of persons 
familiar with their treatment. We do not wish to treat of 
the subject in the present volume, as it is fully explained 
in the work entitled " Diseases in the American Stable, 
Field, and Farmyard.'' 



RUNAWAY HORSES — CLIPPING. 173 

Runaway Horses. — In some horses this habit merely 
amounts to an inclination — waiting for an occasion to do 
so — and should be settled then for ever. The horse should 
be harnessed with coarse harness and hitched to a strong 
wagon, taken to a mud road and given every opportunity 
to run away, but not without a good steady driver as a 
guide, and to urge the animal to take his satisfaction in 
full by a thorough run without an effort to stop him. 

Pasturing of Colts and Young Horses. — The ex- 
perience of many years has taught the author that the 
present system of pasturing colts and young horses is 
not only wrong, but positively injurious to them; espe- 
cially if they be high-bred animals. How often have 
we been called to see young thoroughbred colts afflicted 
with diseases of the bones and joints of the legs — ring-bone 
and spavin ! Why is this so in animals that have never 
been worked in any way, and only from one to three years of 
age ? It is simply because of too much range of pasture, and 
often the pasturing of too many of them together. Let 
a half to one acre be strongly fenced for each colt, and there 
will be no ring-bone among them. The fence for this 
purpose — or at all events one that answers well — is the 
dry stone wall (laid up without lime or mortar). 

Clipping. — We refer to this subject, not to describe 
how it is performed, because there are persons who make 
a business of clipping horses, but to show in what kind of 
horses it is an advantage, as well as those on whom it 
has a contrary effect. Horses that are used for long drives 



174 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

and liave long coats of hair, wliicli a long winter night will 
not dry, should be clipped for health's sake, if for no other 
consideration ; this will enable the animal to do the work 
with greater freedom and less loss of nerve force, as will be 
seen by his improved condition and spirit. Horses used 
for shopping, calling, and standing at the doors on the 
street in cold weather, are better with their coats on, for 
the removal of it would amount almost to cruelty. 

Good Feeding overlooked, but an important 
Agent in improvement of Breeds of Horses. — The 
agriculturist — the tiller of the soil — the producer of grain 
or vegetable matter, will readily understand when for a 
simile, we liken the sustenance of animal life to that of 
plants, inasmuch as both develop stamina in accordance 
with the materials used or consumed to promote growth and 
perfection. In poor soil or earth containing little or none 
of the constituents of the plant, it cannot grow and deve- 
lop, even though assisted by cultivation and a favorable 
season, as it otherwise would were it upon soil supplied 
with or containing all that its nature demands. So it is 
with horses in growth and perfection of development. 
What can be expected but a faulty form from the progeny 
of a starved mare ? This may in a great degree be 
improved by subsequent generosity, extended both to colt 
and dam — to the latter when giving milk, and to the former 
till a perfect form is attained and the animal has arrived at 
its maturity. Yv'hat wisdom or economy is there in stint- 
ing and starving colts the j&rst years of their existence, and 



ADVANTAGES OF GOOD FEEDING. 175 

expecting them not to show it in subsequent life? To 
improve more fully the forms and perfection of horses of 
whatever breed, good and generous diet must be allowed 
to both sire and dam even before procreation, and to the 
offspring from the commencement of its existence till a 
perfect animal is produced or it has attained the age of six 
years. 

By proper attention to feeding, &c., the law of like pro- 
ducing like will not only be modified and improved upon, 
but a good sire and dam will be reflected in a hetter animal 
of its kind. 





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Ground Plan of Stable of Fairman Rogers, Philadelphia. 



176) 



DESCRIPTION 

OF 

PRIVATE STABLE OF FAIRMAN ROGERS, Esq. 

PHILADELPHIA. 



See Fkontispiece. 



This stable is 50 feet by 32 feet 3 inches, and 15 feet 
high to the under side of the cornice. Under the part 
where the horses stand there is a cellar 20 X 20, divided 
into two parts, one for manure, the other for the small 
greenhouse boiler which heats the harness-room and coach- 
house, and supplies hot water for the stable. The ceiling 
of these cellars is of iron beams, with brick arches laid in 
hydraulic cement, forming a firm floor for the stable. 

The manure cellar does not open into the stable, but by 
an outside door into the alley in the rear. The other cel- 
lar is entered from the bottom of the hay-drop. 

The coach-house C H is 30 X 22 with an asphalte 
floor, afi'ording room for four carriages to stand, besides 
space to drive in. The floor slopes to a drain over which 
carriages are washed. 

The harness-room H E. is 16 X ^h ^^^ contains glass 

(177) 



178 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 

cases for harness and saddles H C and S C, with bit-case 
and whip-racks on the other side. The washroom W R 
contains wash-basin and water-closet. The passage P from 
coachhouse to stable, is four feet wide and has its corners 
rounded off. A closet C for the carriage-brushes, &c., and 
a hay-drop from above, occupies the space in the turning of 
the stairs. » 

The stable is 30 X 17; it is divided into three loose- 
boxes, each 12 X 10? and a passage five feet wide. The 
fronts and divisions of the boxes are all movable. The 
posts reaching from the floor to the ceiling, and all or any 
of them can be changed into stalls, thus giving accommo- 
dations for three, four, five, or six horses at pleasure. The 
stalls are five feet wide. Each stall has a drain, and each 
box consequently two, running into a main drain behind 
the stalls, and thence through a trap into the well in the 
cellar. The drains are of cast iron covered with movable 
iron gratings, so that they can easily be cleaned throughout 
the entire length. 

The waste-pipe of the sink runs into the trap to insure 
its being always full of water and not of urine. The floor 
of these boxes is made of oak strips with asphalte run be- 
tween them. 

The racks and mangers are of iron, and movable, so as 
to suit both boxes and stalls and to admit of their being 
cleaned and painted. The sink S is furnished with hot 
and cold water, and in a kind of niche with a closet for 
stable-brushes, &c., over it. 



AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 179 

The stable is ventilated by fresb air coming in tbrougli 
flues in the south wall and by a movable fan-light over the 
door, and the foul air is taken out by ventilator V close to 
the floor and by a large opening at the ceiling, both open- 
ing into the central ventilating shaft, which is warmed by 
the waste heat from the tank of the boiler. There is almost a 
total absence of stable smell, except when the weather is so 
cold that less air than usual can be admitted. The oats come 
down in wooden pipes in the back of the saddle-case open- 
ing into the stable. Under the stairs is a closet for buck- 
ets, brooms, and hose. 

The first floor is 11 feet high in the clear, which with 
1 foot for the joists leaves 3 feet for the height of second 
story at the sides. It is 9 feet in the clear under the ridge- 
pole, giving ample space for hay, straw, and feed, with a 
comfortable coachman's dressing-room, without adding 
much to the apparent height of the stable from the outside. 
A large hay-door, made like a dormer window, opens on to 
the back street. The large sliding coach-house doors open 
on to the end of a twenty foot street which runs straight out 
from them. 

The building has thirteen-inch brick walls, and is lined 
and finished throughout with yellow pine varnished, there 
being no plastering. 



16 



INDEX 



Accidents, 171. 

Advantages of good feeding, 174. 
Agricultural steam boiler, 106, 107. 
Airing the stables, 108. 
Analysis of corn, 80. 

of oats, 81. 
Anemia, 168. 
Antimony, 166. 

Application of cold water, 136. 
Arsenic, 165. 
Assafoetida, 166. 
Axles, 144, 

Collings patent, 144. 

Bale-posts, 27. 

Bandages, 126. 

Bark, tan, 138. 

Barley, 87. 

Bar-sand, 138. 

Beauty of carriages, 142. 

Bedding, 137. 

Biting, 139. 

Bits, 157, 159. 

Blacking, harness, 150, 151. 

Blanketing horses, 121. 

Blankets, tearing the, 141. 

straightening the, 110. 
Boiler, agricultural, 106, 107. 
Boxes, loose, 28. 
Bran, 103. 
Brass mounts, 155. 
Breaking loose in the stall, 141. 
Breeding, 171. 
Bridle, Englisb bridoon, 152, 159. 

Kemble Jackson, 153. 



Bridles, 157. 

Bridoon bridle, 152, 159. 

Brood-mare, food for, 73. 

Care of carriages, 148. 

horses' feet, 130. 
Carraway seed, 166. 
Carriage-house, 40. 
Carriages, 142. 

beauty of, 142. 

lightness, strength, and weak- 
ness of, 142. 

axles, 144. 

Collings patent axles, 144. 

springs, 145. 

shackles, 147. 

care of, 148. 

cleansing of, 148. 

crown soap, 150. 

cresylic soap, 151. 
Carrots, 89. 
Catch-pit, 24. 
Chain, curb, 155. 
Chemistry of food, 66. 
Chill, remedy for, 169. 
City railway car stables, 58. 
City stables, walls of, 18. 
Clean, vicious to, 141. 
Cleansing the stable, 108, 111, 117, 
118. 

carriages, 148. 
Clipping, 173. 
Clover hay, 99. 
Club-stable, 44. 

regulations of, 45. 

(181) 



182 



INDEX. 



Cold water, application of, 132. 
Colts, pasturing of, 173. 
Cooley's lock hasp, 65. 
Coriander seed, 166. 
Corn, 79, 83. 

a heat-producing feed, 69. 

analysis of, 80. 
Corn-meal and bran, 84. 
Cresylic soap, 151. 
Cribbing, 140. 

prevention of, 140. 
Crown soap, 150. 
Curb-bit, 159, 155. 
Curb-chain, 155. 
Cutter^ hay and straw, 102. 

"Dandy brush," 115. 
Doors of stables, 19. 
fastenings of, 20 
''Dexter's" feed, 70. 
Diseases of horses, 172. 
Drainage of stables, 23. 
Draught horses, 85. 
Dressing, or grooming, 113, 115, 

116. 
Dry-hard hoofs, 131. 

Egg, white of, 167. 
Exercise, 118. 

Fairman Rogers's stable, 177. 

Farm stable, 61. 

Fastenings to doors of stables, 20. 

Feed, "Dexter's," 70. 

Feed for brood mares, 73. 

mules, 74. 

old horses, 73. 

stallions, 74. 

spavined horses, 73. 

railway horses, 71. 
Feeding, regularity in, 109. 
Feet, care of, 130. 
Floors of stables, 22. 
Food, chemistry of, 63 
Foot properly prepared for the 
shoe (illustration), 133. 



Forest leaves for bedding, 138. 
Four-in-hand, 153. 

Gentleman's stable, 17. 

Good feeding, advantages of, 174. 

Grass, 92. 

for bedding, 137. 
Grooming, 113, 115, 116. 
Gunpowder as a medicine, 167. 
Gutter, iron surface, 24. 

Hanoverian bit, 159 
Harness, 151. 

specialities in, 151. 

care of, 154, 155. 

paste and blacking, 154, 155. 
Harness-room, 42. 
Hay, 96, 99, 102. . 
Hay and straw cutter, 102. 
Hay loft, 19. 

Heat-producing feed, corn a, 69. 
Horse feed, weight per bushel of 

articles of, 105. 
Horses, runaway, 173. 

"led," 119. 

poor man's, 72. 

blanketing, 121. 

diseases of, 172. 

draught, 85. 

number of in United States, 
11. 

prices of, 13-15. 

shoeing, 132. 

spavined, feed for, 73. 

young, pasturing of, 173. 
Horses' feet, care of, 130. 
Hoofs, dry-hard, 131. 
House for carriage, 40. 

Implements in private stables, 114. 
Iron surface gutter, 24. 

Keeper of livery stable, 53. 
Kemble Jackson bridle, 153. 
Kicking, 138. 
Kicking-strap, 153. 



INDEX. 



183 



Leaves, forest, as bedding, 138. 
" Led" horse, 1 J9. 
Lighting of stables, 36. 
Lightness, strength and weakness 

of carriages, 142. 
Liniment for sprains, 172. 
Lip-strap, 159. 
Liquid, polishing, 156. 
Livery stable, 50. 
keeper of, 53. 
Lock hasp, Cooley's, 65. 
Loft, hay, 19. 
Loose-boxes, 28. 
Loose, breaking, 141. 

Mangers, 26. 
Mare, brood, feed for, 73. 
Meadow grass for bedding, 138. 
Medicine, gunpowder as a, 167. 
Mounts, brass, 155. 

Prince's or yellow metal, 155. 
Mules, feed for, 74. 
Mustard seed, 166. 

Natural grass for bedding, 138. 
Nostrums, substitute for, 168. 
Number of horses in the United 
States, 11. 

Oats, 75. 

analysis of, 81. 
Oat-straw, 138. 
Oil, sweet, 166. 
Old horses, feed for, 73, 

Paste, harness, 154, 155. 
Pasturing colts and young horses, 

173. 
Pelham bit, 159. 
Phillips's stable, 41. 
Polishing liquid, 156. 
Poor man's horse, 72. 
Prevention of cribbing, 140. 
Prices of horses, 13-15. 
Prince's-metal mounts, 155. 
Private stables, implements in, 

114. 

:\G * 



Quantity and quality of food, 72. 

Racing stable, 54, 

plan of, 55. 
Pvacks, 26. 

Railroad horses, feed of, 71. 
Railroad stables, 58. 
Regularity in feeding, 109. 
Regulations of club stable, 45. 
Rein, safety, 158. 
Remedy for chill, 169. 
Rogers's (Fairman) stable, 177. 
Rolling in the stable, 140. 
Room for harness, 42. 
Root, snake, 168. 
Runaway horses, 173. 
Rye, 89. 
Rye straw, 137. 

Saddles, 156. 

Safety-rein, 158. 

Salt-marsh grass for bedding, 138. 

Sand, bar, 138. 

Saw-dust for bedding, 138. 

Seed, carraway, 166. 

coriander, 166 

mustard, 166. 
Shackles, 147. 
Shaft, ventilating, 33, 
Shoeing horses, 132. 
Shying in the stable, 135. 
Sleeping-room for stableman, 39. 
Snaffle-bit, 157. 
Snake root, 168. 
Spavined horses, feed for, 73. 
Specialities in harness, 151. 
Sprains, 172. 

liniment for, 172. 
Springs of carriages, 145. 
Stable, farm, 61. 

club, 44. 

gentleman's, 17. 

Fairman Rogers's, 177. 

Phillips's, 41. 

livery, 50. 

racing, 54. 

work, 108. 



184 



INDEX. 



Stable vices, 138. 

Stableman, sleeping-room for, 39. 

Stables, doors of, 19. 

windows of, 20. 

fastenings to doors of, 20. 

blinds to windows of, 21. 

floors of, 22. 

drainage of, 23, 

ventilation of, 32-37, 109. 

lighting of, 36. 

temperature of, 37-39, 

city, walls of, 18, 

cleaning, lOS. 

airing, 109. 

city railway car, 58. 

variety of, 43. 
Stallion, feed for, 74. 
Stall-posts, 27. 
Stalls, 25. 
Steam boiler, agricultural, 106, 

107. 
Straightening the blankets, 110. 
Strap, kicking, 153. 

lip, 159. 
Straw cutter, 102. 
Straw, oat, 138. 
Substitute for nostrums, 168. 
Sweet oil, 166. 

Tan bark, 138 
Tandem, 154. 
Tea, willow-bark, 167. 



Tearing the blankets, 141. 

" Telegraph" hay and straw cutter, 

102. 
Temperature of stables, 37-39. 
Timothy hay, 96. 
Training, 171. 
Treatment after work, 135. 
Turnips, 89. 
Tying, 128. 

Variety of stables, 43. 
Ventilating shaft, 33. 
Ventilation of stables, 32-37, 109. 
Veterinary nostrums, 165. 

surgeons, 161. 
Vices, stable, 138. 
Vicious to clean, 141, 

Walls of city stables, 18. 
Water-brush, 110. 
Watei', cold, application of, 136. 
Watering horses, 74, 111. 
Weight per bushel of articles of 

horse feed, 105. 
White of egg, 167. 
Willow-bark tea, 167. 
Windows of stables, 20. 

blinds for, 21. 
Work, treatment after, 135. 

Yellow-metal mounts, 155. 
Young horses, pasturing of, 173. 



THE END. 



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